


For Want of a Nail

by Slaine



Series: The Path Not Taken [1]
Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Romance, also warning as it deals with slaine's treatment at the hands of the martians, starting from the end of episode 07 of s1, though expect it to go back to closely following it later on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 99,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3462623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaine/pseuds/Slaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is too much Inaho wants answered and so, rather than just leave Bat after shooting his aircraft down, he takes him in for questioning.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>On how different the events of both seasons would be had Slaine spent time in the Deucalion.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Peripeteia

**Author's Note:**

> Peripeteia: a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation

_"Your princess was dead. And in spite of that... why are you looking for her?"_

_"Eh?"_

_"You knew the princess was alive. So why?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Answer me."_

_"...Take me to Her Highness."_

_"Answer my question first."_

_"...! Wait... are you intending to exploit her to your own ends?"_

_"If she's exploited, do you have a problem with that?"_

_"Are you..."_

***

Seeing the aircraft fall into the water after getting shot, Inaho considered his options. 

There was a chance Bat was alive, and a smaller one that he’d be able to swim. 

Letting him go with just that… it wouldn’t be a wise decision. Whoever he was working for might come to get him soon, and Bat would have some interesting intel to give them, such as that the terrans were indeed with the princess, and she was now helping them use a large flying warship. It would be best if that information didn’t reach more martian ears.  

So killing him would be a better option, but…  

There were things Inaho wanted to inquire. He assumed Bat’s info on the princess maybe being alive and with them had to do with that first martian they had defeated in the water under the bridge. Seylum had told Inaho she had revealed herself to the enemy in an attempt to hold him off enough for the plan to work. They had never found his body, it could be that he had survived and Bat was a subordinate.  

Yes, how the martian had come to find them he could imagine, so what Inaho wanted was information useful for future encounters. Such as where exactly had the Orbital Knights landed, what Bat knew of their powers, which martians were in on the assassination plot—after all, he had fought against the other Martian, meaning clearly there was dissent among their ranks—and whatever else he could think of when he wasn’t so pressed for time.  

There was always the risk Bat was carrying a transmitter on him somewhere but… that could easily be ascertained, and at this point it was clear the information they could gleam from an interrogation far outweighed the risk, specially since—considering Bat had found them—it seemed the ones trying to kill the princess were already on their trail anyway.  

Decision made, he moved towards the closest piece of land from where the aircraft had sunk into the water and waited, not leaving the safety of the cockpit. Sure enough, soon someone surfaced, gasping for breath.  

Inaho was momentarily surprised; though Bat’s voice had sounded young, he hadn’t expected him to be a boy around his own age. He and his friends had to battle because everyone else had died, but were the martians also so out of personnel to send? Or was it that the boy had been expendable?  

_No, from the way he piloted… maybe they sent him because he’s exceptionally good._

Bat finally seemed to get his bearings, focused on the kataphrakt and froze. Inaho was considering how best to grab him when the blond boy spoke.  

"Orange," he said loudly enough to be heard over the distance and waves, voice understandably breathless. "Are you waiting to kill me, or are you taking me captive?"  

It took Inaho aback; _would the answer make a difference?_ Either way, wouldn’t it be in the boy’s best interest to attempt to escape? Or had he realized escape would be practically impossible in his current condition? 

Unless he _wanted_ to be caught. Except if he did then he would have probably left himself at Inaho’s mercy before, rather than try to shoot him while demanding to see Seylum.  

If the situation wasn’t so serious, Inaho would have enjoyed the mental exercise the boy was making him do. The other martians he had dealt with had required little to no thought at all to figure out.  

He had refused to respond to Bat’s queries earlier, partially due to having his own questions unanswered by the boy, but what if he replied to this one?

“I’m going to take you in for questioning.”

“…fine.” 

Bat seemed to try and swim towards Inaho for a second… only to suddenly disappear beneath the waves.  

Judging by the way he went under, Inaho guessed it was not him trying to flee, but the apparent lack of martian contact with water, which meant he never learned to swim.  

Inaho moved his kataphrakt forward and checked the sensors for the blond’s location. Finding him, his hand swooped down and took him from beneath the water.  

Inaho waited patiently, watching as Bat laid in his robot’s open palm, gasping for air. Finally, when he had composed himself enough to glare, shivering, up at Inaho, the brunet decided talk.  

"I don’t know how little you think of us, but if you’re planning to get captured only to gather information and then escape you will be disappointed."  

Bat’s expression looked bitter. He tried to speak and was momentarily thwarthed by a coughing fit as his body expelled the water he had swallowed. It only disconcerted him for a second, and he promptly recovered and went to scowling. 

"And if you think I’m saying anything until I can speak with Her Highness you will be sorely mistaken."  

_He doesn’t just want to know what we are doing with her, but actually speak too?_

It could be an elaborate ploy but… if he deemed it safe to speak to Seylum, it implied there was more to this than just attempting to keep her from resurfacing. It _could_ be that Bat wished to talk to her to trick her into trusting and following his wishes but... Inaho now had the distinct suspicion this boy might turn out to be an ally.  

Yes, looking back at their last conversation; it was possible that they had misunderstood each other out of distrust…

Either way, there was too much Bat still needed to explain; even if he were an ally, he could afford to spend a day or so in a cell until his trustworthiness was verified.  

***  

“Count Chruteo, abide a moment. Consider how senseless this would be. First there’s the fact we are not even sure if he is truly alive. He could have easily perished in the water. Futhermore, even if he is indeed among the living, the terrans have hardly any place safe to escape. Sending out troops after all their possible routes will be not only cumbersome but also unnecessary, for sooner or later they are bound to meet with one of our comrades. I will send a word out that should Slaine be found he must be sent back to you alive for his punishment, doesn’t that sound reasonable to you, Count Cruhteo?”  

Cruhteo’s reluctant nod wasn’t very convincing and as soon as connections were cut, Saazbaum instructed his spies to keep a close eye on him. Cruhteo was too hot-blooded; if he so much as gathered any news on Slaine’s location he would make his way there without saying anything first.  

Saazbaum massaged his temples. If Cruhteo found Slaine, and if Slaine was indeed with the princess, the count would certainly fight by her side…  

Of course, these were a lot of ‘ifs’ that needed to happen, and Cruhteo was only one Knight and the moon base was under the command of people that shared Saazbaum’s opinions.  

All in all, even if Cruhteo did join the princess, it wouldn’t do much damage to his plans. Still, it would be troublesome and so he’d rather avoid it.  

As for Slaine…  

He sighed. When he first heard the news that Dr. Troyard’s son was now among them, he had immediately come forward, asking to have the boy under his patronage.  

However, it soon became clear that stupid little princess had taken a liking to the boy and like an owner with their new pet, refused to be parted from him for long. Taking in Slaine would mean having to treat the princess under his roof and Saazbaum didn’t think he had enough control to not break her fragile little neck if he were exposed to her and her mindless, blind prattle of peace with the terrans for long. Futhermore, he had to keep Lemrina a secret…

With remorse and renewed hatred, he had watched as Slaine was brainwashed into adoring the pathetic girl, helped by the fact that only she treated him nicely amongst the martians.  

Yes, had he lost his chance to have the boy grow with his ideals in mind, but he seemed smart, if Saazbaum found him again he would show his hand and see to it the boy realized who truly had the right of it.  

***  

Cruhteo remained convinced of Saazbaum’s idea for only a little while.  

The betrayal had been too personal for him to so easily make light of it. He had graced that terran scum with food, clothes and even taught him how to work and this is how he repaid him?  

Not to mention, somehow he had managed to contact terrans and had some sort of scheme with them. So it was reasonable to suppose Slaine might even have been part of the Princess’ assassination… it would certainly explain how they had known when and where to attack her with such precision...  

No, his pride and loyalty to Vers would not allow him to idly sit by until Slaine showed up on someone’s radar.  

Despite what he had told Saazbaum, Cruhteo ordered his subordinates to spread out and search the areas near where Slaine last was.  

He would find the boy, and then he would make him _pay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -"For Want of a Nail": this is the first line from a poem about how a small change can have a ripple effect.
> 
> -This fic will follow events of s1 and s2 diverging in that Inaho had captured Slaine in episode 07, and how that affects everything. Yes, s2 as well: meaning that while this fic will initially derail from canon events absolutely, after a time it will go back to following them as much as possible, with some obvious changes. At which point will I endevour to go back canon events and how (given I am aiming to make Slaine and Inaho fall in love in the future) I won't say.
> 
> Regarding ep07: it baffled me that inaho never captured Slaine. As I've exposed in his thoughts in this prologue, there were quite a good number of reasons why it'd have been better to do so (from his point of view). Between being disgruntled over that and my own shipping preferences, the idea to write this was born.


	2. Chary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chary: _1\. Very cautious; wary. 2. Not giving or expending freely; sparing._

The Deucalion turned out to be fully equipped to take in prisoners.

Magbaredge quickly realized she and her crew, however, were not.

The boy Kaizuka Junior had brought back with him was refusing to reveal anything until he saw the princess. Some of her men and women tried to get him talking but apparently their knowledge of interrogations came from movies and the ’bad cop good cop’ routine was ineffective. Not that she could say much, she had no training in this area either. Nonetheless, as the Captain she would have to try.

She glanced at the boynext to her, since he too would have no experience in it… and did a double take when she realized what he was researching on his tablet: torture techniques.

“Kaizuka Junior, what do you assume we’re about to do?” she asked in disbelief. He turned to her, unperturbed.

“It’s Inaho. And I intend to insist on the questions he has been refusing to answer since after our joint fight, naturally,” he said monotonously, then continued with an undertone of reprimand, “it would have been more efficient if you had let me continue it when I arrived. Barring me from the room until everyone else was unsuccessful is—”

“You are a kid. Older and more experienced officers should handle these matters.”

“I’m too young and unexperienced for an interrogation, but not to risk my life on the frontlines?”

Magbaredge stopped herself from flinching. He was right; it was too warped that they had to rely on a kid to save them all.

“You are only entering if the current officer fails to extract anything from him,” she said firmly, avoiding what he said. “And no matter what, you are not doing any of that.” She waved at his tablet’s screen.

He looked at the torture still displayed there and frowned as he turned the power off. “I was researching the best questioning methods and was sidetracked to this, since it has some interesting info. It’s worrying that you assume I’d do such a thing, not only because you should be able to tell I carry no instrument used for that with me, but also since Bat has given no reason to deserve this. Quite the contrary; his invaluable help in battle means he deserves some basic human rights until we know more.”

She would have replied, but just then the door to the room they were keeping the martianin was opened and a disgruntled man came out. He saw Magbaredge and saluted.

“Captain. Sorry, he refuses to say anything except that he wants to speak to the martian princess.” He hesitated. “Is it… true she’s here?”

Magbaredge could feel the beginning of a headache.

There was just too much happening at the same time and too many changes coming on too fast. This new ship, finding out they had the martian princess with them and two kids had known, then one of said kids returning from battle with a captive and now said captive was giving them trouble, refusing to talk...

“All will be explained soon.” _I just need to make sense of it myself, and then come up with plans._ “Go to your post and await further orders.”

The man obeyed—saluting again—and left. She turned to Inaho. “Let’s go, then.”

Five minutes later she regretted having allowed the boy’s presence at all; his being in the interrogation room was clearly only making things worse, as their prisoner continuously glared at him.

Understandable, since it was Kaizuka who took him captive to begin with.

Naturally Magbaredge had hardly wanted to have the boy involved in all this, but he had been insistent, clearly intent on having his own questions answered, and for all his insubordination, Inaho had been too vital to their survival so far for Magbaredge to deny this of him.

“We will not be considering your request to see the Princess until you answer our questions,” she stated.

“I don’t care what you do to me; I’m not revealing anything until I know she’s unharmed.”

“You are clearly not just considering that a possibility,” Inaho stated. “From your stance you are treating that as the likeliest outcome. Why? You saw her on the command room: she was powering the aldnoah drive completely free.”

The boy huffed. “Why wouldn’t I suppose that? You are using her—”

Magbaredge frowned and interrupted. “Kaizuka Junior is right, you seem too certain of that.” A sudden suspicion came to her, and she turned to Inaho. The boy’s face was trained on the martian’s in a way that almost made it look as if he was avoiding Magbaredge’s gaze.

“Of course I am! Orange said so!” their prisoner continued.

She didn’t need to ask who ‘Orange’ might be, it could only be one person. “Kaizuka Junior, explain this!”

“Don’t call me junior. And I said no such thing, Bat.”

“You—”

“When you asked if we were going to exploit her I didn’t answer and instead asked you if it that would be bothersome.”

“Which implies that you _are!”_

“No, it does not.”

“Of course it does, when you consider the option of what—”

Magbaredge couldn’t believe it; they were supposed to be interrogating an enemy yet Inaho was now bickering over _semantics_ with him.

Still, at least it gave her time to reflect on this new piece of information. Also, it showed her a less guarded, even if more heated, side of her captive.

_He seems to care for the princess’ wellbeing. Should I still lie and say we are only using her?_

_If he is an enemy, escapes and tells other martians what we said, would it change anything if they believed we are only taking advantage of her? Not really._

Focusing back on the two—the martian was now blushing in humiliation while Inaho was frowning as he spoke nonstop in a way that made Magbaredge suspicious: like he was trying to hide his own fault in the matter by burying the truth in words—and opened her mouth to speak…

“—so as you can see it is entirely your fault for assuming it, as well as for not answering my questions first. We aren’t coercing her into cooperating; she did it out of her own free will.” Inaho finished.

Magbaredge blinked and silently cursed him for beating her to it.

“Precisely,” she interjected, turning their attention back to her. “We have no intention of exploiting anyone. Your Princess revealed herself to us so we could use this ship to escape. Now, I realize you won’t fully believe us on our word alone, but consider this: we won’t allow you to see her, or even get out of this cell, until we decide you aren’t a threat. And we’ll do so based on your words. You are also in a very precarious situation, as you have no leverage whatsoever. So choose; remain silent and get nothing, or trust our words and tell us what we want, and maybe get a chance to see her.”

She saw he pondered her words, and also how he came to a decision. _His face is so expressive when he isn’t trying to hide his emotions._ “Have you decided, martian?”

With a defeated sigh, the blond lowered his eyes and replied quietly. “I… am not a martian. I am terran.”

 _That_ sent her mind reeling. And judging by how Inaho’s eyebrow’s rose he hadn’t expected that either.

 _The problem,_ she thought, _is that for all their talk of being superior they look exactly like us still. There was no way to simply look and define someone as martian or not._

For once, Magbaredge beat Inaho to the question. “How were you with the martians then? Were you captured?”

*

Slaine did his best not to flinch at the query. During the few minutes in-between interrogations, he had considered his situation and realized they’d definitely want his story if they knew he wasn’t martian.

Which brought him to a dilemma: his father. He had, for all intents and purposes, ran away from Earth and into enemy hands on his own volition, not to mention probably abandoning important scientific work to the terrans for it.

Slaine had been too young to understand such things before leaving for Mars; he remembered things too vaguely and thanks to his age had never been at all involved with the work. He had no idea what his father had actually been doing. It could be that his father had been a nobody, that the work he abandoned on Earth, and even the fact that he ran off, wasn’t even known.

But if he _had_ been known—and how would some random scientist manage to build rockets and reach mars without some huge funding?—there was a chance his name would be unwelcome; a sign of a traitor. And as the woman had just said, Slaine’s situation was precarious enough as it was.

But he couldn’t outright lie either. They could go to Princess Asseylum and ask her what she knew of him, and if she gave them a contrary report…

Whatever choice he picked, he’d be walking on eggshells.

“I… my father was interested in the martians and so went with them, and carried me with him.” True enough, but he hoped he had said it in a way to make it seem like this was during the last time martians had been on Earth, fifteen years prior. “Five years ago, a rocket I was using to go around Mars crashed and Princess Asseylum saved me. I have been in her debt ever since.” He added, to make sure if ever the princess mentioned meeting him as a kid, they wouldn’t start wondering about timeframes.

Slaine wondered if they’d come to the conclusion he hoped they would. Given how earlier Orange had argued with him over implied meanings, maybe he would demand a more precise explanation and this would fail…

“I was very young when they last came down to attack us,” the woman said softly, “but I recall how many people actually _wanted_ to go with the martians. Some out of fear, others out of awe. Normally the martians had no mercy and murdered them all, but I suppose one martian could have been merciful…”

He glanced at Orange. The brunet seemed to consider it before nodding in agreement. It was hard concealing the sudden smugness Slaine felt.

_So much for chiding me on seeing meaning where there was none. Pity I can’t point it out, you stuck-up prick._

“Very well, now what is your name?” The woman glanced at him. “Is it… Bat?”

Slaine could feel his cheeks turning crimson at the thought of having such a ridiculous name. “N-no! I have no idea why Orange calls me that. My name is Slaine.”

And this was the most difficult part; giving only his first name and hoping they didn’t ask for a surname. If he could pass that hurdle, Princess Asseylum wouldn’t be a problem at least since she only called him by his first, even when he had asked her not to due to being improper…

Help came from an unexpected place.

*

Once again, Bat gave information that sent him reeling. To the point Inaho couldn’t avoid the surprised “Slaine?” to escape his mouth.

Both Magbaredge and Ba— _Slaine_ turned to stare at him in unison. He knew what they wanted. “Seylum—”

“Don’t call her with such familiarity!”

Inaho ignored the outburst. “—mentioned someone called Slaine had been teaching her about Earth.” _And teaching her wrongly_ , but this wasn’t the time to point that out; not when the blond was finally willing to give them answers.

It seemed like the information lifted a great weight from B— _Slaine_ as his shoulders visibly sagged.

“She probably wouldn’t have mentioned that if you weren’t on friendly terms,” he mumbled, looking visibly relieved.

 _He shows every sign of being on her side, but we still don’t know the most important thing._ “Why did you assume Asseylum was alive? And how did you come to think she would be with us, and then how did you find us? Because right now all of that can be easily explained if you were in on her assassination.”

“I would never—” In his sudden anger, Slaine jumped from his chair. Of course, his wrists and ankles were bound so he would be no threat, but even so Magbaredge signaled for him to sit back down and he did, still seething. “I was not in on the plot to murder her!”

His declaration did not move Inaho. “WYou can repeat that as many times as you wish, but until you offer some clarification it means nothing.”

Slaine hesitated before saying “Fine” in a resigned voice. “I knew she was alive because I saw her reveal herself to Trill—to the martian you defeated on the bridge.”

 _No, it can’t be…_ “Where were you?”

“Jun— _Inaho_ , why is his precise location important?”

“It is. Where were you when you saw that?”

“I… somewhere on a beach near the bridge, using binoculars.”

“What were you doing there?”

“…I was ordered to accompany and obey the martian’s every order. I was the one piloting the skycarrier one of you shot down.” Slaine turned hesitant. “Did… did I… Were there any casualties because of me?”

 _So that was him… he really doesn’t stop being surprising._ “No, there weren’t any.” Slaine was once again looking relieved. _Wait, did he…_ “Your aim was terrible on purpose,” Inaho stated with certainty. “I hadn’t considered you might have been that pilot before now because of the disparity in skill. Did you attempt to avoid severely damaging us because we’re terran like you?”

“...Princess Asseylum would never have wanted innocents to die because of her. It wasn’t right, killing any of you… not if you hadn’t been involved.”

“Enough with the interrupting,” Magbaredge cut in, seeing Inaho opening his mouth to say something yet again. “Slaine, proceed.”

***

“The martians planned your assassination? That seems a bit farfetched… but it is just as he said.”

Rayet tried not to fidget and kept a bored expression on her face to hide her uneasiness. Initially she had thought she was being summoned to get praise for her part in dealing with the latest martian threat, but after a quick acknowledgement of their achievements, Magbaredge had gone right into talking about Asseylum’s identity.

 _Is there any chance they’ve figured out mine? No, certainly not…_ She glanced at Inaho; he was still more unreadable than most, but it definitely felt like he had less patience than usual… quickly she brought her attention back to the conversation so she wouldn’t miss anything important.

“Captain Magbaredge, if we make this public, perhaps the Mars Knights will cease their attack.” Mizusaki was suggesting.

“All comm satellites and bases were annihilated, and their jamming hinders all long distance transmissions. If we try to get word out of her safety we can’t guarantee it will be correctly received by the appropriate parties.”

“You believe it could make us a target of the Mars Knights who plotted her death instead?”

“In any case, our destination has been the UE HQ in Russia all along.” Magbaredge looked at the princess. “You have my word, I will guarantee your safety until we reach there, Your Highness.”

“Thank you,” Asseylum said sincerely, then hesitated. “You… mentioned someone had already told you my story? Was it…?” She glanced at Inaho, who shook his head.

“No, it wasn’t him. We’ll get to that, but first…” Magbaredge turned to Rayet and Inaho.

“Kaizuka Inaho, and you…”

“Rayet Areash.” _If she doesn’t even know my name, it must mean I’m safe for now…_

“You both were aware of this, and yet neglected to inform me.”

“I’m not a soldier, I don’t report to you.” She replied curtly.

Magbaredge raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning instead to Inaho.

“And you, Junior?”

“I did not neglect to do it. I elected not to.” He deadpanned, then frowned and an edge of exasperation crept into his words. “And is this really necessary right now? Why make this a priority when we have yet to pass judgement on—”

“Watch your words.” Mizusaki threatened. “You are treading on thin ice.”

“I asked him to keep quiet!” Asseylum interjected, and her words were amended by her maid.

“There is no guarantee that there are no allies of the assassination on board!”

“Eddelrittuo!”

Magbaredge interrupted. “As a matter of fact, there is someone on board whose loyalties we need to decide.”

“Finally,” Inaho said under his breath. The captain ignored him, speaking to Asseylum.

“Kaizuka Junior took captive a boy that says he’s terran but whose father went to Mars and you helped—”

Asseylum had an immediate reaction. She gasped, hands going to her mouth. “Slaine? _Slaine_ is here?”

“Yes, that is the name he gave us. We took a picture to show you…”

She handed her phone with a photo of him. Asseylum took one look at it and smiled. “Yes, that’s him. I wondered how he was doing…”

Eddelrittuo was more practical. “But why was he around here to get captured?”

“He has given us his account on how he came to find us, which we will determine if trustworthy or not. Though I suppose we have to acknowledge that he did help Kaizuka Junior hold off the martian enemy long enough so we could fight back. Of course, he could have done that for reasons other than just to aid us, so I need to know what your thoughts on him are.”

“Oh, he can definitely be trusted! He’s not a person that would help assassinate _anyone!”_

Magbaredge looked like she clearly didn’t trust her obviously biased opinion and turned to Eddelrittuo. “And you?”

Reluctantly, the small girl answered. “I… don’t think Slaine would ever plot to assassinate Her Highness.”

“He could have been pretending to gain your trust.” Mizusaki suggested. “He’s been with the martians for what? Years?” Magbaredge nodded and she continued. “Maybe spending all that time around them made his loyalties change. And then they used how he was a terran and young to get close to—”

“ _Enough with this bullshit!”_  Rayet yelled, and banged on the table. The sudden outburst was such even Mizusaki said nothing; too shocked to reprimand her.

Rayet was panting. _How dare they, how dare they say...!_

The story about this boy that had apparently been brought up on a planet not his own had seemed too familiar. The suggestions of involvement in the assassination ploy, as well as the tone in which they commented such had hit too close to home for Rayet, and the girl felt as if, in a way, they were judging _her._

“Living with people that aren’t your own doesn’t suddenly make you one of them, _especially_ when you have family around you to constantly remind you don’t belong,” she spit out, seething. “And we’re talking about martians here. You think they, with their superiority drivel and condescending attitude would want to have dealings with a terran? And who, apart from a stupid brainwashed martian, would even be insane to the point of believing their idiocy enough to betray their home planet?”

“How dare you!” Eddelrittuo yelled, face red with anger.

Her words only fueled Rayet further. “What? You’ll deny it? Aren’t we in this mess to begin with because her precious subjects betrayed her?!” She sneered. “Your own people are traitorous murderers towards each other, yet you expect terrans to become loyal lapdogs?”

To that, neither Eddelrittuo nor Asseylum had anything to say, and their silence stoked Rayet’s anger somewhat.

“That’s enough!” Magbaredge said, banging her hand on the table to have their attention. “This ends now.” She paused, but the martian found she had nothing else to say and turned her face away from them. The captain continued “Let’s now deal with the matter of our… prisoner. I have my own opinion on it but I’m interested in hearing yours, Kaizuka Junior, what is your current verdict on Slaine?”

“Captain! I think it’s best if you don’t ask for his opinion,” Mizusaki spoke. “He’s already acting out because we have been lenient when he crosses the line. Don’t give him more attention. Personally, I believe we should leave this boy locked up until we reach our destination.”

Rayet turned to look at Inaho, and was taken aback by how clearly irked he seemed to be by her words. “You’re saying that my speaking out of turn discredits all my knowledge and contact with the person? Someone of higher rank should know when not to make judgments based on personal dislike. Particularly when said decision involves someone’s fate hereon. Furthermore, why is your opinion in this matter valid? You have not heard his story in detail, much less seen or spoken to or fought with him. Unless you have a background dealing with such characters and situations there is no reason why your outlook on this matter should be considered.”

It took a lot of her strength to not snicker at how red faced and white lipped Mizusaki had become; Inaho had just humiliated her in front of some kids and he had been right.

Magbaredge sighed. “This is why you don’t have a date.” She muttered before saying in a louder tone. “Kaizuka, just answer my question before I do decide not to listen to your opinion anymore.”

For a second Inaho hesitated, clearly thinking it through, but quickly came to a decision. “Now that I’ve heard his story and Seylum’s knowledge of him, I find the chances of him being a spy to be very low. I think we can trust him for now. However—” He pointed at Asseylum next to him. “Even if he holds no emotional bonds to the martians, he is clearly motivated by Seylum alone. If you ever decide to use the princess beyond what she’s willing to accept, or simply no longer work together with her, you must keep in mind that as he is now that boy will take her side and be against you.”

Asseylum looked troubled and Eddelrittuo was fuming. Rayet was almost surprised. _Sure he’s somewhat of a cold fish but I didn’t think he was this bad. Then again, it’s not like he said who he’d side with if this lot had a falling out with that blonde bimbo…_

Magbaredge drummed her fingers on the table for a minute, studying Inaho’s face intently as she considered her options. She didn’t take long to decide. “Very well, I too believe we can trust him… for now.”

Rayet rolled her eyes at the exaggeratedly loud sigh of relief Asseylum gave. Their Captain wasn’t finished though, and continued.

“Kaizuka Junior, since you brought him here, I will assign you to being his guide and making sure he adjusts to us. In fact, I will leave you in charge of all proceedings regarding his arrival.”

This time Rayet couldn’t help herself; she snorted. Mizusaki eyes widened and she hastily covered her mouth with her hand, as if hiding a smirk. And Inaho…

… Inaho’s impassive expression had left and was replaced with a slight look of distaste.

“Why?” he demanded, tone no longer as emotionless.

“Terran he may be, but I’m sure you’ll agree that there is much he needs to learn about how we work. He’ll need to be taught.”

“Oh! I can do that!” Asseylum finally spoke up excitedly. “I did that when he landed on Mars, I can do it aga—”

To Eddelrittuo’s annoyance and Rayet’s delight, Magbaredge cut her off with a hand gesture. “No offense, but I’d rather have a terran teach him our terran ways. You might have adapted easily into one of us, but there is much more you still need to learn, and unlike you, this boy will have to work much closer to the others; he needs contact with the terrans and not just you. And finally, if Inaho likes to take in strays so much—” She noticed the boy about to interrupt and added, “ _regardless_ of how logical it was, then he should also come to understand there is more to adding new people that isn’t just inviting them inside, especially when these people aren’t terran, in a way.”

It was subtle, but it seemed like Inaho was almost giving her a sour look. “That’s not just it, isn’t it?” he asked. “This is my punishment for not telling you Seylum’s identity and for my speaking out of turn, isn’t it?”

_Of course it is, look how smug she is right now._

“What a foolish notion, why would I presume being someone’s guide and helper would be punishment? Most would jump at the chance of being relieved of the usual work for something so simple.”

_Yeah, but anyone can see this guy isn’t the type to like things like this. Heh, not a bad move, Captain. You can’t really punish him because you owe him too much, so you’re doing this instead._

***

 _Her true intentions in assigning this task were too obvious,_  Inaho reflected as he walked back to where Slaine was being kept.

He wondered at his punishment; he was unsure if he’d find it as bad as Magbaredge had clearly intended it to be.

It would depend on Slaine, and Inaho concluded he couldn’t gauge him yet.

Certain things, like thinking he could get away with refusing to reply to Inaho, threatening him, and demanding to see Seylum while he was captive, indicated an overly emotional and irrational person.

_But…_

He had also impressed Inaho, something that didn’t occur very often. And he had done so more than once. His piloting skills, quick thinking in battle, and the things he had done to reach them had been varying shades of interesting to almost fascinating.

So long as Slaine remained calm, Inaho could see this bothersome undertaking ending without too much issue.

Nevertheless, he planned go about it as efficiently as possible to avoid troubling himself more than he had to.

He found Slaine in the same way he had last seen him, albeit looking much more tired now. Any signs of fatigue, however, were quickly swept away when he saw Inaho coming in.

“Well?” he demanded, shoulders stiff.

Normally Inaho would delay replying by purposely misunderstanding the meaning of the question and answering “Yes, I am well” but he wanted to get things over with quickly.

“Seylum confirmed what you said. She is currently speaking to the highest ranks and I’m going to take you to her. So if you try doing anything when I free you, that will just delay your meeting.” That seemed to do the trick, and Slaine no longer looked ready to attack him, only eager at the thought of seeing his princess again.

Inaho freed his arms and legs but didn’t bother to wait while Slaine rubbed his wrists, instead turning around and walking off.

“Ah! W-Wait!” Slaine quickly caught up to him. “Why are you leaving without me?” he demanded.

“I saw to your restraints myself, I knew they wouldn’t be tight enough to leave any damage.”

“Even so—”

“And your goal so far has been to see Seylum, which I’ve just said I would show you to next. I deemed it likely that if left you would simply follow.”

“But what if I didn’t?”

“Unlikely, but had you done so then that would have been proof that you had lied and I would sound an alarm.”

“Oh.”

They fell silent; Slaine observing his surroundings while Inaho began a mental checklist of all he’d need to do for Slaine.

_Room, clothing, assignments—_

His concentration was broken when he heard someone speak, but he had been too absorbed to catch the words. He looked at Slaine.

“What?”

“You were miles away weren’t you?” Slaine huffed. “I asked what is my status right now. Am I under some sort of probation?”

“You are to be considered part of the crew and expected to follow orders.”

“I see.” Slaine hesitated. “I guess… thank you,” he said grudgingly.

“...for?”

“For... well... for not just killing me, for not abandoning me there and for trusting me enough to let me free to see Princess Asseylum.”

Inaho frowned. “None of that was a favor. All I’ve done has been based on the best course of action to take.”

“I realize that. But even so, I feel like I needed to say it.”

Inaho had no real comeback to something that had no basis such as that, and they lapsed into silence.

Nearing their destination, Inaho decided to fill in his charge to avoid useless questions. “Until she activated the aldnoah drive on this ship, Seylum’s true identity had been a secret from everyone. So right now she’s being introduced to the higher ups. Here.”

They had reached a large door with a circular glass window on it. Before Slaine could move to see through it, Inaho stopped him and did so himself; he wanted to make sure whatever was happening wouldn’t set Slaine of.

He had no cause for concern: through the glass he saw Asseylum surrounded by people, but clearly fine, and not uncomfortable as she seemed to be replying to their questions.

Satisfied, Inaho moved away from the door and motioned Slaine to take a look.

Clearly apprehensive, Slaine moved forward—

“Princess Asseylum,” he said with a relieved sigh, and his whole face lit up.

Inaho had thought Slaine was lively before, but he had clearly been wrong; Slaine had been half dead compared to how he was _now_.

Looking at his princess safe and smiling through the door glass, his eyes shone with a vitality that hadn’t been there before and he whispered, “So she’s really ok…” with more passion than Inaho had ever heard from him until now.

However, suddenly his legs gave way for an instant and Slaine nearly fell to the ground. Inaho rushed to grab his arm but it turned out needless as Slaine had already regained his balance, leaning on the doorway to help steady himself.

From how he had looked, Inaho judged he had just nearly fainted.

_Is he that overly emotional? No, it’s not just that…_

“How long have you been going without rest?”

“I…” Slaine blinked, making sure to still keep an eye on the princess. “I don’t get the question. I was just sitting around in my ‘cell’, that’s resting.”

_Except you must have been extremely worried for your own future and Seylum’s. In that mental state no one would manage to rest. And before that you were in a battle, and before that you had to run away from the martians…_

“How long since you slept, then?”

“Huh… I think… twenty-six hours.”

_Twenty-six hours, most of which were spent in a heightened state of anxiety and alertness, not to mention fighting… he must have been holding on for Seylum’s sake._

Inaho was impressed. Again.

And then he realized no one had offered food or even water since Slaine had arrived, and he was probably half dehydrated as well.

He silently cursed his own oversight. He could try and take Slaine to a room— _he doesn’t have one yet, does he?—_ and get him to rest, but it was clear Slaine would do no such thing until he actually spoke to his precious liege.

“Go talk to her,” Inaho said, and opened the door.

As they walked inside, everyone turned to look at them. Most were confused, but when Asseylum saw Slaine she smiled brightly.

“Slaine!” she gushed and hurriedly walked towards him. For a second it seemed like Slaine would try to bow but the princess was faster and clasped his hands in hers, coming close. “So they finally let you out! I can’t believe you’re here too!”

Tuning out the useless conversation between the two, Inaho took place near and between them so he could observe their reactions and confirm something he had just noticed.

_Interesting, she seems to like him enough, but his devotion is one sided. And Eddelrittuo is displeased with his presence._

Noticing the other people slowly edging in to begin asking questions, Inaho looked for Magbaredge within the crowd and, finding her, went to the Captain.

“I need a map of this ship.”

“After I finish reintroducing Asseylum to the rest of the crew I’ll tell someone to send you one.”

“Then I need the location of the medic bay.”

“What? But Doctor Yagarai checked you when you arrived. Did he mis— oh, is it Slaine?”

 _They hadn’t even checked him for injuries?_ Maybe it was best he stay under Inaho’s watch after all, or else he might just die from incompetence.

“There was a time during the fight some of our enemy’s weapons hit his aircraft, and from the way it was plummeting he must have temporarily fainted.” _Not to mention when I later shot him down._ “So he’ll need a checkup. But even without that, from what I’ve gathered he won’t hold on for much longer if he doesn’t rest.”

Magbaredge raised an eyebrow “Oh? Just a few minutes with him and already you care that much?”

“My assignment is to be his guide and help him adjust to us. This task will never be completed if he’s barely conscious enough to pay attention. The faster he heals the better.” He frowned at his superior’s irrational assumptions of sentimentality when there was such a reasonable reason to it. “As you’ve said, I’ve only known him for less than an hour, there is no logical reason for me to like him yet.”

*

Feeling chided, Magbaredge nonetheless gave him directions and watched as the troublesome boy managed to pry away their new addition from the throng of people trying to question him and the princess, dragging him away.

She noticed how the hand Inaho had on Slaine’s arm was in a position better for steading him rather than just pulling him along.

And he had said he didn’t have reasons for liking him _yet._

Magbaredge’s lips twitched. It was true her main reason for giving him the task was to make him pay. Even if Inaho had only logical reasons for what he had been doing, it didn’t change the fact that he’d brought a load of trouble for Magbaredge to deal with, as now revealing the truth about the princess and then assimilating this new boy into their midst would need caution so as not to generate negativity within the crew.

But it wasn’t just that. With Slaine, they could simply spread that he was a terran, captive by the “bad martians”, and had escaped to protect his homeland and the only good martian around. Yes, _that_ would garner the immediate sympathy of the people with them. It was the Princess she needed to focus on at the moment, so she decided on leaving Slaine to Inaho while she concentrated on that.

Of course, if rather than suffer through it, Inaho ended making amends with the boy, she wouldn’t mind it, as right now they couldn’t afford to have anyone onboard squabbling. And it certainly boded well that Inaho was willing to actually look out for him rather than use his current less-than-healthy state as an excuse to hand his supervision over to someone else. Inaho was too intelligent; had he felt absolute aversion to Slaine, he’d have suggested handing his charge over to Doctor Yagarai on account of his health.

Slaine… she had felt he was strangely likeable when she interrogated him, but it was clear she had underestimated how much. She half pitied him for having to deal with Inaho for the next day or so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Part of the dialogue with Mizusaki, Rayet, Asseylum and the others is taken word by word from canon.
> 
> -Rayet is an interesting but hard character to write, since she has some very warped conflicts due to her father's murder and her own indentity as a martian, so her thoughts are a little off.
> 
> -During the bridge thing with trillan, Slaine was clearly disliking his role
> 
> -I'll continue to try and update this around a weekly basis (but not necessarily every sunday).
> 
> -Questions, suggestions and such are fine.


	3. Doryphore Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Doryphore: One who draws attention to minor errors made by others, particularly in a pestering way._

Slaine woke up feeling… different.

For one thing, through his closed eyelids he could see how well lit the room was. Which made no sense, as the soldier lodgings were always barely lit; no need to waste energy on lowly people after all.

But then, the bed he was laying on was too comfortable to be his usual bunk…

_Where am I?_

And then it all rushed back to him:

The Deucalion, Orange and Princess Asseylum—

Slaine jolted fully awake and sat up. He blinked twice to get used to the lighting of the room, and immediately looked around at his surroundings—

He was in what seemed like a medic bay. A man—probably the doctor judging by his clothes—sat on a desk some way away. He must have heard Slaine sitting up, because he turned around.

“Ah, you’re awake.” He smiled. “I’m Dr. Yagarai. Do you remember how you ended up here?” he asked as he brought his chair next to Slaine’s bed.

Slaine hesitated and frowned as he tried to recall. “The last thing I remember is walking away from Princess Asseylum with Or-Inaho…”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, it seems you grew very tired, which isn’t surprising considering what they’ve told me you’ve been through, and Kaizuka helped half drag you here before you collapsed. How are you feeling?”

 _So I didn’t faint and need to be carried, that’s a relief._ “I feel…fine.” More than fine; Slaine felt more well rested than he had in ages.

Surprisingly, his answer made the man chuckle as he took out a stethoscope and motioned for Slaine to turn so he could use it. “Is that so? You certainly look it. That boy… from the way you were when you came in and what had happened to you, I had assumed you’d be out cold for more than a day. Kaizuka said you’d be awake and ready to be discharged in half that time, and he was right.”

Slaine wasn’t sure he liked knowing that, but had other more pressing issues to think of. “How long was I out for?”

“Thirteen hours.”

_No wonder I feel so good, I don’t think I’ve ever slept for so long before…_

“Well, it seems there’s nothing wrong with you, but if you want to rest a little longer—”

“That won’t be necessary!” Slaine blurted out quickly, and internally cringed at how desperate he sounded; he wanted to see Princess Asseylum again, he wanted to show these people he was useful enough to be allowed to stay, and he didn’t want to seem any weaker in front of that damn boy that beat him… but daring to contradict a superior would give him no such thing—

Slaine then recalled his behavior the previous day and almost flinched. He wondered how much he’d pay for having acted out so noncompliant and aggressive. He had been tired, hurt, sleep deprived and worried sick for Her Highness who he believed was in bad hands, so he hadn’t measured his words and acted lowly. He hadn’t been part of the crew yet either; hopefully the captain would take all of that into consideration before determining the price for his attitude...

“I’m sorry for my outburst!” he added hastily, hoping the doctor wasn’t too strict and forgave him due to the circumstances. “It’s just that I feel perfectly fine and I don’t want to waste any more of the crew’s time. I’m ready to be of use.”

Dr. Yagarai frowned. “Be of use? You mean work? Thank you for being so eager to help, but don’t be silly, you still need to recover from your ordeal. I can and _will_ discharge you from here, since if you’re _this_ energetic I think you walking around won’t be an issue, but I won’t allow you to do anything more straining than that. And from what I saw, Captain Magbaredge is of the same mind.”

Slaine’s heart sank; even other terrans didn’t think him capable enough to recover… or maybe they didn’t trust him with anything yet. “So what would you have me do for now?”

“Whatever you want.”

“Then, may I see—”

“The princess?”

Slaine blinked in surprise as the doctor once again chuckled. “Kaizuka told me that’s what you’d want when you woke up. Now…” He stood up and walked back to his table, searching for something. “As I said, you can do what you want, as far as I’m concerned. However, it’s quite early so I doubt Asseylum will be awake yet, and Kaizuka asked me to tell you—”

“He asked?” Slaine blurted out before he could stop himself.

Yagarai smiled brightly. “I see you have been sufficiently acquainted with him. Alright, he didn’t exactly ask, but I’m sure it’s what he meant to do. Ah! Here they are…” he said as he took something from underneath a pile of papers and walked back to Slaine. “Anyway, he wanted you to know he was put in charge of fixing stuff for your arrival and he asked... well...  _advised_ you to go meet him to sort it all out before going anywhere else. Since we don’t really have a spare tablet to hand you, he wrote these down for you.”

The blond was handed two pieces of paper. One had a map of the ship meticulously drawn on, the other one—

“My schedule.” It said so on top of the paper, and Slaine nearly laughed at how even Inaho’s handwriting looked mechanic. The paper contained exactly what the title said: Inaho had put down each time of day and what and where he’d be doing on them.

He glanced at the clock on the wall: 6:45 am. At this time Inaho would be—

“Looks like he’s having breakfast.” Dr. Yagarai stated, looking at the paper over his shoulder. “He’s quite an early bird isn’t he?”

Slaine frowned.  _How is 6:45am considered early for a soldier? Unless they have breakfast later and do work when they wake up…_

He’d find out soon enough; thanking the doctor profusely, Slaine set out to once again find the orange kataphrakt’s pilot.

***

Inaho reveled in the complete absence of anyone else in the mess hall.

For most of his life he hadn’t minded busy ones, even if the too loud sounds of conversation and constant jostling annoyed him, but his newly found fame thanks to the times he kept helping them survive meant that people now stared and talked about him like some animal on display. Worse, some wanted to come over and try to make conversation, and were never pleased with Inaho’s short and gruff replies.

So now eating alone was preferable.

And then he heard footsteps.

Any exasperation he felt was ignored over his interest on who it could be. Judging by the rhythmic tread of it and the early hour, it would be one of the few adults that were actual trained soldiers—

It turned out to be his charge, which wasn’t that unexpected.

The boy paused at the entrance, surveying the empty mess hall with obvious bafflement. He noticed Inaho and walked towards him, steps slightly off balance due to his confusion.

_I might not get stared at, but I’ll certainly be glared throughout._

He turned out to be only half correct, as Slaine did glare at Inaho when he reached him, but after a moment’s hesitation dropped it and muttered a very polite—albeit curt—greeting, and sat down opposite from Inaho.

“…where is everyone?” Slaine ventured, once again looking around. “Has everyone already eaten?”

“No one is up yet.” Inaho replied, and Slaine looked uncomprehending. Inaho had expected it; Asseylum hadn’t been very helpful when it came to saying how Slaine had lived. She didn’t know what he did when not teaching her, other than attending ‘Count Cruhteo’, but from everything he’d seen and gathered, Inaho knew Slaine had been trained as a soldier, which explained his current confusion. “Although the majority of the citizens had to go through military training since the last invasion to prepare us for what is happening right now, most are still civilians. Aboard this place only a handful are truly military, so while we do all have our tasks and we keep order here, don’t expect it to be as strict or precise as the martians were. Also—”

He was interrupted by a growling sound coming from Slaine’s stomach, who immediately stiffened.

_That’s right, he hasn’t eaten in a while._

“I’m sorry about that, please continue...”

“It can wait. Come, I’ll show you how to get the food. Normally there are people assigned to cooking duty, but we’re up early so we’ll get our own.”

“They allow you to just grab the food you want anytime?”

“No, normally the storage and kitchen would be locked, but in the confusion of coming here they haven’t done that yet.”

“B-but if they find out we took something without permission—”

Inaho filed away his words and tone. _So they were very strict in_ all _regards._ “You’re new so they won’t expect you to know. And you’ve been too long without food so Dr. Yagarai will vouch for you.”

“What about you?”

They entered the kitchen.

“They’ll scowl at me at most, it’s not like they can afford to truly penalize me since they are heavily relying on my help for now.”

He would have mentioned that helping Slaine had been an attempt at punishing him, but before he could, Slaine gasped as he saw the food crates.

“Fruits and vegetables, it’s been so long…” he knelt to peer inside one.

“From what I’ve learned, you haven’t had those in years, correct? The martians didn’t have any and these would go bad too quickly to be sent as provisions…” Asseylum’s status had meant she had tasted some of it before—though she had assured him not in the variety and deliciousness of the ones on Earth—but he doubted a servant would be allowed that luxury.

“That’s right…” Slaine now had an apple in his hand and some strawberries in the other, looking like a lost child that was told to pick between two toys.

“Just take all the fruit you want and have it for breakfast.”

“What? I can’t do that! The rest of the crew—”

“They’ll have enough. Look at how much we have. And as I said, fruit spoils quickly. It’s best to eat it now than let it go to waste.”

“I suppose…” reverentially, Slaine picked a bit of everything he could and walked back to the tables with Inaho; though by the time they reached it, Inaho noticed Slaine had already popped some grapes in his mouth. It was amusing in a way he imagined his sister would call cute.

Inaho watched him eat; with both fatigue and mistrust gone from his face, he looked young, meaning Inaho’s initial assumption that he was around his own age would turn out to be correct. It made him once again wonder why someone so young was already that trained as a soldier.

_Maybe having a military training was a requirement for being on the princess’ entourage…_

He had been too lost in thought, trying to shape the martian workings, to hear his name being called.

“—ho? Orange?” Slaine asked and Inaho snapped out of it.

“What?”

“You’ve been staring at me, is something wrong?” he asked in-between bites.

“I had nothing better to do. How old are you?”

“W-what? Huh… sixteen. You?”

“Fifteen.”

“You’re _that_ young?!”

“I’m only one year younger than you.”

“E-even so, that’s really young to be fighting on the frontlines like that! The training you must have had…”

“You don’t know?”

“Know wh—”

“Ah, never mind, you were taken to Mars before it was put in effect-”

_—Five years of training saved Slaine from having a visible reaction, and he managed to nod.—_

“But ever since Heavens Fall everyone has obligatory military cases, exactly in the case our current situation happened.”

“Oh.”

_—Slaine hadn’t know; his father was never in the same place for long due to his work, so Slaine had always had private schooling, and never enough interaction with other people to know it.—_

“But if you were that surprised… Does that mean martians don’t draft young people into their ranks? I’ve been deliberating on why someone around my own age would have had so much training already, and the two explanations I could come up with were that either you are an exception due to your piloting skills—”

“T-thank you! But you were great too…”

“…are you not feeling well?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Your face is red. Are you coming down with a cold?” Inaho slung his body over the table, hand reaching out to check Slaine’s temperature—

But it was hastily batted away and he sat back down. “I-I’m fine Orange!” Slaine’s voice was almost a squeak. “Just… my skills weren’t the reason, what was your other idea?”

It was a blatant attempt at changing the topic, but Inaho saw no reason why, and so went along with it. “The other option was that it was a requirement to be on the staff with Seylum.”

Whatever had caused his face to turn rad, it had gone now, and Slaine was calmer and back to his usual coloring. “It’s Princess Asseylum,” he replied mechanically. “And that’s a very close guess—”

“Not a guess, it was based on—”

“I’m sure you based it on many things, Oran—Inaho. Anyway; all personnel working outside of the home planet must have at least some basic military knowledge. Even Eddelrittuo has had some. And while certain very specific jobs—such as the royal cooks—don’t really need anything of the kind, since I was the vassal of a Count, he determined as part of his staff I should work like everyone else.” He paused with a faraway look on his face, clearly reminiscing.

_Whatever he’s recalling, it isn’t something he’s fond of…_

Slaine sighed and lightly shook his head as if to brush off unwelcome memory. “Well, anyway, I’ve finished. I was told you had more information to give me?”

Inaho wanted more information on this Count that felt a young boy needed to be so rigorously trained, but it could wait. “There isn’t much to do, as you don’t have a routine scheduled for you for now. I’ll show where your sleeping quarters are, and tell you our rules on the way there.”

“That will be very helpful, thank you.”

There wasn’t much to say as they made their way; he didn’t need to explain emergency proceedings to Slaine, just show him on the map where he’d have to go, as well as the obvious rules such as no stealing, no weapons allowed, obedience, etc.

“That is it. As you can see they’re just the expected procedures to maintain order. Ah, here it is.” He pointed to the door they were now in front of. “Considering your background, I assume you’re used to bunk beds and shared spaces?” Slaine nodded. “The Deucalion—I suppose you don’t know that yet, it’s the name of this ship—has many rooms but it was decided that keeping everyone near each other would be best for now, so civilians and lower ranks are in shared rooms that fit twenty-four people, in twelve bunk beds.”

“Oh, so there are people in there? I’d rather not risk disturbing their sleep by coming in. Is it necessary that we do so?”

“…no, not really. My room is that one, two doors down. It’s full right now but if you have any issues with your roommates, Magbaredge said she can arrange to move someone.”

Slaine snorted. “Because if I have problems with someone that’s never done anything to me, certainly the best idea is to put me with the guy I tried to shoot and shot me down in turn.”

 _That reminds me… but I’ll ask that soon enough._ “I think she meant in the event that others did not take well to how you came to be here, as at least I won’t be attacking you for no reason, and can report if anything happens to you near me.”

“…I knew that, Inaho. It was a joke.” He seemed momentarily annoyed, but then bit his lip. “Do you think… I’ll have trouble?”

 _He asks while looking resigned instead of worried… Strange._ “Unlikely, when news broke regarding you and Seylum, responses seemed positive. But be on the lookout for a while, nonetheless.” And for some reason he couldn’t help adding, “People will bully others for the most ridiculous reasons.” Inaho blinked at his own words: he hadn’t meant to reveal that. Thankfully Slaine didn’t seem to take the hint and instead just nodded in agreement. Then, because he wanted to see how Slaine would react to it, he added. “Also, all rooms are one gender only. So you’ll be rooming with other men and there’s no way anyone will allow you to change to Seylum’s room.”

“W-w-what _?! I would never presume to sleep in the same room as the princess_! That is preposterous! How dare—”

Tuning out the expected rant, Inaho focused on his flushed face, _the blood rushes to his face so easily… and I suppose whenever he’s angry? Curious, why was he angry earlier?_

He was brought back by a hand shaking his shoulder. “Are you even listening to me?” the other demanded.

“…no, there’s no need to.”

Bristling, Slaine sucked in a breath—clearly getting ready to begin anew—so Inaho spoke up. “I thought you didn’t want to wake the people inside? Keep that up and you will.” Strangely, Inaho realized his own behavior was incongruous; he had been the one to purposely rile him up. _Ah, I see… I find it amusing how easily he reacts._

Slaine blinked and narrowed his eyes, undeterred. “Fine!” he hissed. “I’ll just whisper proper behavior and manner into your ears until something manages to filter into your brain!”

Inaho ignored him. “The last thing I needed to tell you is—”

“Don’t change the subject!”

“Making a necessary observation is hardly a subject, so you are chiding me incorrectly. Also, you’ve changed the subject more than once today, why can’t I do the same?”

It seemed Slaine hadn’t thought he had noticed, because he was momentarily stunned. “I…! A-alright then!”

“The last thing is this; right now we don’t have sufficient spare clothing, so you’ll have to wear your uniform for now.”

“…I guess.” Slaine accepted while looking at his uniform and sighing.

“Any questions?”

“Yes, what will my duties be?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet, and you’ll need to speak to Magbaredge about it.” Which had been ridiculous; he was perfectly capable of gauging where Slaine would best fit. “She told me she planned to schedule a meeting with you today, to gather intel from you, so you can ask again.”

 _That_ deflated Slaine. “I doubt I’ll have anything useful for her; I was low in the hierarchy and with my terran origin people trusted me as little as possible. As for the assassination plot, _that_ I know little more than what I have already told you.”

Inaho nodded, not understanding why Slaine was looking so down now. “Yes, I told her all that. It’s not expected that you’d know much. But any knowledge regarding their transportations and weapons will do. And it would have been suspicious if you knew much more on the plot to kill Seylum.”

“I suppose…” He sighed. “All I know is that Count Cruhteo is definitely in on it and maybe Her Highness’ grandfather too. She’ll be sad about that.”

“She won’t be there to hear it.” _He has reasons to assume the current Emperor is in on it? I need to hear more, but I suppose it’s pointless to ask now since he’ll just repeat it later._

“Oh, I guess what she doesn’t hear won’t hurt her…” Slaine visibly perked up. “So… do you have any questions for me?”

“Most I’ll ask when you meet with Magbaredge.”

“Oh, you’ll be coming too?”

Magbaredge hadn’t said he could, but she hadn’t said no either. “Yes.”

“Guess that isn’t surprising, you seem to be their strategist. Well then, so what questions _do_ you want to ask right now?

It had been something he had been warned about by both Magbaredge and his sister. Slaine was clearly not very cool-headed and might not forgive Inaho for nearly killing him, however rational the action had been.

_“You were the one to give me this task of being his guide,” Inaho had said. Magbaredge sighed._

_“Yes, and I do not rescind my orders for now. Nonetheless, be on the lookout and at the smallest sign he resents your actions, distance yourself and come to me. Nearly being killed is not a thing most can just brush off.” She had faltered. “There was something about Slaine that made me feel putting you with him already wouldn’t be dangerous, but I’m not about to risk anyone’s life on my gut feeling, so please beware.”_

Inaho needed to verify that, to determine how cautious he needed to be around the boy _. Rilling him up before confirming this was foolish of me…_ “Do you hold a grudge against me?”

He had expected Slaine to yet again need him to elaborate, but instead Slaine blinked twice and started chuckling.

“Inaho… you’re not supposed to ask people that.”

“Why not?”

“Well, mostly because it’s something normally clear. But also because if they aren’t holding a grudge, they’ll probably get offended since you’re implying they have been treating you badly enough to warrant asking it.”

“…I see, that makes sense, I’ll keep it in mind. But considering our circumstances I felt it was necessary.”

“Oh? Am I treating you like I’m resentful?”

“…yes, you are constantly annoyed at me and you’ve mentioned the incident.”

Slaine rolled his eyes. “Right, because being shot down is such a small thing I should never mention it again.” Inaho tried to interrupt but Slaine didn’t let him. “That was sarcasm, by the way. As for being annoyed at you, that’s due to your personality, not your actions. But… if you’re worried I’ll hold it over your head and one day try to shoot you as payback or some other vengeance… I won’t, because _yes_ you nearly killed me, but you also took me to where Her Highness is, and were one of the people that allowed me to stay here, by her side, free, and so far it seems you’ve also helped her a lot. So while I don’t like what you did, I don’t have any ill will towards you because of it. If anything, I’m happy with how things turned out.”

Tension he hadn’t realized he had been feeling left Inaho. _It’s one less complication._ “Good, you aren’t as unreasonable as you seem.” _But you are definitely more dangerous than you look. Yesterday you mentioned how you shot the martian that revealed to be in the plot to murder Seylum. If I hadn’t taken you with me, would another encounter mean you’d shoot me in resentment? Yes, I think you would, especially if you still believed I was only ever using her…_

“From what I’ve seen of you so far, I guess that’s a compliment.”

“It is. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“…never mind. So, what do we do now since no one is even awake?”

“I don’t know what you plan on doing, but I intend to go inspect the Deucalion.” He noticed the questioning look Slaine was giving him. “Unlike the majority, I decided to call it early yesterday, as considering what I went through it seemed wiser to let my body rest and recuperate. But now I want to see things for myself.”

“I don’t have anything to do either, so I might as well do the same.”

“A good option. I’m going this way.” He pulled up the map on his tablet and showed Slaine his route. “Which way will you go?”

Slaine fished out his own map from a pocket, but before he could decide, they heard the sound of a door opening.

They turned to look at the direction of Inaho’s room, and found Calm leaving it, blearily rubbing his eyes. He groggily walked towards them.

“Morning Inaho.” His greeting was half yawn. “And morning… wait, who are you? What’s up with those clothes?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Slaine. I’m not sure if you’re aware of my situation?”

“Hey, I’m Calm Craftman. And no, I have no idea who you are, sorry.”

Inaho almost sighed. “You would if you hadn’t left before the mandated all personnel meeting was over.”

“Dude, I was hungry and it was clear they wouldn’t say anything else on the princess so…” He shrugged and turned to Slaine with a smile. “Have you seen our resident princess yet?”

Dread settled over Inaho. _Calm’s way of appraising girls tends to normally makes people offended…_

“You mean Princess Asseylum? Yes, I have.”

“Isn’t she such a—”

 _He’ll be the target of Slaine’s wrath if I let him go on._ “Why are you up this early? Usually you are the last to keep a schedule,” he asked, intent on saving his friend from Slaine’s potential wrath.

“Hey! Don’t make it sound like I’m always late!”

“You—”

“Five minutes isn’t late! Anyway, hum… I’m up because I couldn’t really sleep, I heard some stuff and wanted to check if it’s true…” he said sheepishly.

“What stuff?”

**

It was Inaho who had asked, But Calm, aware of his friend’s usual lack of reacting, instead turned to stage whisper at—what was he called again? Oh right—Slaine.

“They said there’s a _haunted_ room in here!”

“…”

He had expected the blank yet somehow judging gaze from Inaho. His company—because Inaho didn’t have any friends Calm didn’t know of—affected a polite but glazed look of interest, like he didn’t at all believe what he just heard but didn’t want to make trouble.

“Hey! Now, I know what you are thinking. Haunted? There is no such thing! But fellows, consider this: this place is run by _alien magic_. Ghosts are totally plausible.”

“…I believe this ship runs on martian technology, not magic.” Inaho gave his expected reply, but Calm found it weird how he glanced at Slaine as he said it.

“Oh, come on. Did you not hear about how the princess activated this ship? This flying ship I might add. She touched a thing and then there were rainbow lights and we flew. That’s magic.”

“That overly simplified and retold account is hardly trustworthy. Furthermore, the presence of light means nothing; electricity can result in sparks yet you don’t call it magic.”

“That’s a bullshit comparison!”

“I hardly see why. Also—”

“Magic is all phenomena and technology we haven’t figure out the workings to.”

The words halted the beginning fight as Calm and Inaho turned to look at Slaine, who blushed at the attention he got. “Uh… it’s a thing my father used to tell me. So… it might not be incorrect to call it either way…”

“Ha! Nice saying!” Calm said, willing to jump at any opportunity to not lose to Inaho. That is, if Inaho accepted it…

“…it’s a decent saying,” Inaho said in the deadpan way Calm had come to realize was his equivalent of a pat on the head _. And from how Slaine is looking right now, he’s already suspicious it might be a compliment. This guy learns quickly, where did he come from and why is he with Mr. Unsocial of all people?_

It didn’t matter. Right now he had a golden opportunity. Truth was, while he hadn’t been able to sleep thinking about the ghost, he had no intention of seeking it out alone. But with Inaho and this guy with him…

“Why don’t you two come with me?”

“…we were about to start reconnoitering the ship.”

“Together?” Inaho disliked company—specially unknown company—on times like that.

“Not really.”

 _Ah, that’s more like it._ “Well, you two can check out all the places we pass on our way to the haunted room.”

Inaho slightly pursed his lips as he considered it. “Where is it located?”

Calm showed him on a map. “That’s the ship’s mainframe. This is most certainly no ghost but something aldnoah related,” Inaho affirmed when he saw the room in question.

“If you’re so sure, all the more reason to come and prove it to me, right?”

Rather than decide it himself, Inaho instead turned to Slaine, one eyebrow raised. The blond replied with an amused smile and a shrug, and thankfully even Inaho knew enough body language to understand that.

“We’ll go with you,” he stated.

“Right then! Follow me, brave men!” Calm said dramatically and marched—

“You are going in the wrong direction.” Inaho called from behind him. Calm froze and, embarrassed, turned around and followed the two.

***

Fifteen minutes later and it had turned out that Slainewas extra polite and seemingly nice, yet despite that, for some reason Inaho seemed to _enjoy_ provoking him. It had been weird for Calm; Inaho was never the kind to be mean, he either quickly put down people he disliked and avoided them, or tried to not goad his friends (though they were never spared from his tongue). And Slaine didn’t seem to mind his behavior much. That is, he had kept reacting angrily but judging by the quick way he recovered, things weren’t as big an issue as he made them out to be.

So when Slaine began getting ready to ask a question, Calm mentally groaned, wondering how they’d start fighting _again._

“Back then…why did you ask for my opinion before deciding if you’d go with your friend? Err, that _is_ what you were doing, right?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Well, only a few minutes before you were basically saying we were going to do the same thing but separate instead of just going together…”

“And? Did that bother you?”

“Not really, I’m curious why you didn’t want my company before and suddenly you wouldn’t go with Calm without me.”

“I never said I didn’t want your company; it just was unnecessary, pointless, and better if each went on his own pace. I felt your presence was necessary afterwards because it’s one thing to go alone, it’s another to be the only sane man out of two.”

Calm’s amazement at the conversation the two were having wasn’t enough to make the thinly veiled insult pass over his head. Still, when he was considering a retort, they reached a doorway he recognized.

“Hey, it’s the tool storage! Let’s go inside” he didn’t wait for replies and just entered, going to a wall and almost drooling at the things hanging on it “Woah, just _look_ at all these babies!”

“Didn’t you see this yesterday?”

“Yeah but seeing all these tools by daylight makes it all so different!”

“This room is being lit by artificial lighting, there is no-”

“Shut up, don’t try to ruin my moment.” he said offhandedly.

He heard footsteps and glanced sideways to find Slaine had joined him inside, looking at the tools with interest.

“You know this stuff?” Calm asked.

“Something of it, though I don’t recognize the majority of these tools…”

“Did the martians use new tools?” Inaho questioned, deciding to join them, or just Slaine, since it’s who he was giving his attention to.

_Martians?_

“Not sure…judging by the designs here, maybe they were a mixture of very old terran equipment and some made by the Old Civilization…”

 _Why did I not see it before? That uniform…is he a martian?? I need to speak to Inaho_ “Actually,” Calm said, and hoped his cheery tone wasn’t noticeably fake “most of the tools hanging here are tools we brought along.” _Should I even be revealing this to the enemy?_ “a lot of the tools that came with the Deucalion are really old models, why don’t you check those out? They’re in the back.” When Slaine followed his suggestion and went off to check them, he grabbed Inaho and whispered “Spill it, why is there a martian with us? The princess is one thing, since she’s cute, but-”

“So if he were cute it’d be ok with you?”

“Wha-no! He isn’t a girl so it doesn’t count!”

“’Doesn’t’? Not ‘wouldn’t’? So you think he’s cute?”

“ _N-no!”_ he nearly forgot to whisper “I don’t think men are cute! I’m not gay!”

“What’s wrong with being gay?”

“Hey, it seems most martian tools are just-” Slaine came back, and hesitated at how Calm looked as he was grabbing Inaho by the shirt collar “…is something wrong? What did Inaho say?”

“I don’t see why you immediately assume I must have said something. Calm was just admitting to being homophobic.”

Slaine’s obviously judging gaze only heightened his panic “I’m _not_ homophobic! I have nothing against gays! If all men were gay it would even be better, since there’d be more women for me!” he babbled on in desperation “Why is this even such a thing for you?” he demanded, turning to Inaho, and then had an idea “Oh wait, could it be that you…is that why the porn magazines I lent you never worked? Because hey, I’m totally fine with that and knowing you find me sexy won’t impact our friendsh-”

“For that to happen I’d have to be interested in men _and_ have no taste. But I’m not.”

“If you aren’t gay who are you to say I’m not sexy for people who like men?”

“…my opinion is based in what I hear women who have met you say.”

“H-hey! I’m sure they were just being coy and not wanting to admit how hot I look! And anyway, what are you anyway?”

“There are many options of what I might turn out to be.” he took out his tablet "Such as...”

“Okokok I don’t care" Calm said hastily and shoved the tablet into Inaho’s face to stop him from searching it. "So anyway, I’m not homophobic, you aren’t gay and I’m attracted to girls so I can’t like boys too-”

“Hum...actually...” the voice was hushed but there was something about the tone that made sure Slaine now had Inaho and Calm’s undivided attention. He continued in a strained tone "There’s also bisexuality? Where one likes both men and women...”

Calm frowned "That sounds like bullshit. Have you ever met anyone that’s-" he stopped, because his brain processed Slaine’s now ashen face and withdrawn body language "O- _oh_! _You_...uh...I didn’t mean any-”

“What is it?" Inaho demanded.

“ _He’s_ bi" Calm hissed back. Inaho’s blank gaze didn’t change at the news.

“Is...is that a problem?" Slaine’s question was almost a squeak. To Calm’s horror, Inaho beat him to the reply.

“That depends, are you going to try and peek at people you´re interested in when they’re sleeping or in the showers?”

“That’s horrible, of course not, who would even do such a thing?”

“Calm did”

“That was once and I was accidently drunk!”

“How can you get accidently drunk?”

“I was young and thought Mari-uh, our teacher’s- alcohol bottle was water”

“…”

“…”

“D-don’t you two look at me like that! It’s true! Anyway, how does that even work? How can you like girls and also boys?”

Slaine shrugged, still looking uncomfortable but less worried “I just do.”

“But like…how? I mean, how can you...” he tried to think of an example to express his bafflement “How can you like someone like the martian princess but also like…uh…Inaho?”

His brain caught up to his mouth as soon as he said it. _Shit, shit shit that’s not what I meant!_

Too late: Slaine was looking at him with a glassy eyed expression that clearly showed he was using all his strength to stop himself from saying a very clear “I am not”

Calm desperately looked at Inaho for help…and froze.

Inaho was slightly bent forward, shaking almost imperceptibly. Calm would have asked what was wrong but the sounds he was making made him hesitate.

It sounded like Inaho was chuckling, except that wasn’t possible because Inaho had never ever done that.

“I…apologize” Inaho said, composing himself with inhuman speed. “It’s just that-” he stopped, looking at Slaine, still trying to hold his poker face.

Slaine broke down first this time: he smiled, tried to hold back laughter, making it come out choked, gave up and just doubled over with laughter.

_He looks really good laughing…shit Inaho must never know I thought that._

As for Inaho…he moved too fast for Calm to see if he was smiling, but he had to be; he again covered his hand in his mouth and slightly turned his head away from them. He didn’t chuckle this time, but _still_.

_There is a joke between these two, and it’s one hell of a joke…_

Again,Inaho returned to normal almost immediately, expression more carefully blank than usual. _Shit, I should have taped it_ Calm regretted as his friend spoke to him. “I…think you shouldn’t attempt to draw comparisons between his affection for Seylum and-” Slaine was giggling now, needing to lean on a counter to hold himself up “anyone else, _especially_ me.”

That brought another burst of laughter from Slaine, but he quickly tried to subdue it. “S-sorry about that. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so much.”

Calm thought it was an insult, but Inaho apparently did not “Me too.” he said, and his lips quirked up a bit more.

Inaho and Slaine looked at each other, still smiling, until Calm caught up to Inaho’s words “Oh, so you have a crush on the princess? Good choice man!”

That dispelled any last laughter left in Slaine, and he turned to Calm in horrification “No! Princess Asseylum is perfect but my feelings for her aren’t so…so selfish! I’m just her loyal servant! I would never want her in such a way! She’s too…herself for such thoughts, don’t ever even insinuate such a thing!” he hastily searched for a change of topic “Anyway, what even started all this talk about sexuality?”

“It began because Calm said you were-mmmffff” with almost light speed, Calm slapped his hands over Inaho’s mouth.

 _“Nothing!_ I was just wondering why a martian like you happened to end up here too.”

“Ah…I’m not a martian, I’m terran.”

“Huh?” his grip lessened in his surprise, and Inaho pushed his hand away.

“He’s terran. He was taken to Mars and pledged his eternal loyalty to Seylum when she helped him. When he found out she was alive and martians were the ones behind her assassination he left them to come search for her and ended up here.”

“That story feels like it would be epic if told by anyone else, Inaho. But still, if it was so easy to explain, why didn’t you just _say_ so from the start?”

“I didn’t feel the need to. And I think we’ve wasted enough time in this room, let’s proceed.” He said and walked out.

“…I’m going to _kill_ you!” Calm yelled after him.

Slaine walked past him and snorted. “I hope you have better luck with that than I did.”

“Wait, _what?!”_

**

They saw the training grounds, meeting rooms, storage rooms, rooms they couldn’t decide what they could possibly be for (“It’s another storage room” “No. it’s for solitary confinement” “This makes a good place for a quick making out ses- oh stop looking at me like that you two!”) and then—

“Stairs? Did we have another level above this one?” Calm wondered, looking up.

Inaho brought up the map, and turned it slightly sideways so Slaine could see it over his shoulder.

“There isn’t anything above us.” he stated “These stairs aren’t mentioned in the map, but considering everything, they must be leading to…” he stopped and glanced at Slaine for confirmation.

The blond nodded, eyes twinkling with excitement “Yes, that’s definitely it!”

“Uh…you two want to clue me in?”

“It’s the outside deck.” Slaine replied, hurriedly going past him and climbing the stairs.

Calm followed, saw him open the door and go outside with an excited gasp. The reaction confused him, so he halted.

“He must be interested in seeing the sky” Inaho explained coming up beside him “Seylum wouldn’t stop talking about it. And all her excitement came from imagining what Slaine told her, meaning he must have been fondly remembering it and now he’s finally able to pay attention to it, since previously he was too busy fighting.” He finished and frowned.

“Something wrong?”

“Given his age and the timeframe, he shouldn’t-” Inaho began, but paused and almost shook his head “Never mind. That is something I can easily verify later. Let’s go.” he moved to follow Slaine, but Calm stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Hold on, now we’re alone again, explain just how you ended up with him this morning.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Look: the martian princess kept dogging your footsteps because she’s nice and wants to be friends with everyone and also you knew her secret. Slaine didn’t look like he was trying to cling to you, and you are not the type to make friends quickly, so what the hell is going?”

“…I’m impressed that you realized there was a reason.”

“I’ve had years of practice trying to read you.” He couldn’t quite keep the pride out of his voice “Now spill it.”

“Magbaredge ordered me to guide him through everything.”

“Why? Does she not know you at all or is she trying to make sure he doesn’t fit in?”

Inaho ignored his jab “She believed this would be a form of punishment for me.”

Calm burst out laughing “Oh, wow, she’s hot _and_ smart then. Or not; you don’t seem to be in as much pain as I thought something like this would give you.”

Inaho shrugged “Given the behavior and stupidity that led to our misunderstanding and my subsequent need to shoot him down-”

“Your need to _what_?”

“-I expected that constantly being near would result in more strife and serious fighting, or at least my finding it insufferable. But he’s turned out to be more like he was when we were fighting off the Martian-”

“Huh? You fought together? Didn’t you just say you shot him down-”

“Regardless, his background and intelligence has helped him easily grasp most instructions so I don’t see this ‘punishment’ extending beyond today or at most, tomorrow. Let’s go, we need to call him back so we can proceed to your alleged ghost.”

“He’s not _my_ -oh whatever, sure, let’s go get Slaine.” _I really need to hear about this battle from someone that isn’t Inaho._

They stopped to admire the gadgets on the door that made certain it wouldn’t accidently shut close, as it had no latch form the outside. “If the Deucalion was under attack, people would have some difficulty breaking in without using explosives.” Inaho pointed out. Calm barely listened; looking for Slaine.

He turned out to be on the foremost point of the deck, alternating between looking at the ocean below and sky above.

“Has Princess Asseylum been here yet? She might like the sight.” He shouted at them when he noticed their approach.

Inaho walked until he was side by side with the blond and said something that had Slaine making a feeble attempt at reprimanding him, but Calm ignored them. He didn’t bother walking right up to the edge where Slaine was, instead stopping a bit back; he appreciated the view, but it wasn’t that big a deal for him. More interesting was looking at the control tower from the current viewpoint.

“So the glass is _that_ transparent from outside? That doesn’t seem smart, right Inaho?” he glanced around but it turned out Inaho’s attention was focused on Slaine, who was dreamily watching some seagulls.

“You must have missed this sight a lot” Inaho said, and for a moment it seemed like other was too lost in thought to hear it.

“Hum? Oh…yes, you don’t realize how beautiful it is until it’s gone…I missed it these last few years.” Slaine finally replied, not looking at him.

And then Calm saw it. It was fleeting, but instinct had made certain Calm learned to be weary and notice it: Inaho’s momentary expression of triumph. He had caught Slaine saying something he shouldn’t have and he wasn’t likely to forget it. Inaho would bring up whatever it was when Slaine least suspected it, and when the knowledge would be most beneficial for Inaho.

Calm had no idea what Slaine had said that was off, but whatever it was, he pitied him.

“Guys, lunch is going to be soon, let’s go find the ghost.”

Inaho obeyed and, with a sigh, so did Slaine.

“Don’t worry.” Calm assured, slapping him on the back “From here on it’s mostly this sky and this ocean, you’ll get sick of the sight soon enough!”

**

And then later, because Calm just couldn’t resist…

“Soooo…since you like guys, can I ask you something?”

“Tell him no.”

“Shut up Inaho, Slaine?”

“I…sure?”

“You’ll regret it.”

“Don’t listen to him. Anyway…this uniform, do you think it emphasizes my good points?”

“Ah…it’s not possible for me to answer that since I don’t know what your strong points are, I apologize.”

“You have good diplomatic skills sometimes. Had you tried conversing like this before you wouldn’t have been shot down.”

“Oh? I thought it was my assumption of something not said that was the issue. Are you finally admitting that wasn’t why things went downhill?”

“No, I mean that even your own misunderstanding would have been avoided if only you-”

Calm groaned as they started arguing again.

**

Finally, they found the mainframe room.

Calm stopped in front of the doorway.

“This is it, men. Are you ready to-”

“Just open it.”

“I’m setting the mood!” _and trying to calm my nerves._

He opened the doorway to find…machinery. It was like the heart of any kat, except a hundred times larger.

Nervously Calm looked around: the room’s lights were dim, the atmosphere cold and the space so very large. A ghost could be lurking anywhere…

Clearly not worrying, Inaho made a beeline to the nearest wall where a pipe was emitting a pulsating rainbow light.

“I assume inside this pipe Aldnoah is running. I’m guessing to limit its power to only the ship itself they distribute it through these.”

“That’s right.” Slaine said, joining him “It-”

_Murmurmurmurmurmurmur_

Calm yelped “Did you hear that? Oh God please tell you heard that. Or maybe it’s better if you didn’t and it’s just-”

“Quiet. We would still be hearing it if your voice wasn’t drowning it out.”

Calm clamped his mouth shut and what Inaho said turned out true: he could still hear the indistinctive sound.

He turned to the direction it was coming from and nearly had a heart attack. There was a _thing_ forming; a rainbow misty shapeless thing, near a wall…

Almost scared out of his wits, Calm took a step back, getting ready to run. And then, to his horror, he noticed walking purposely towards the thing…

“I-Inaho, don’t!” he grabbed his friend to stop him going further. Inaho tried to shake him off.

“I won’t touch it, just get closer.”

“It’s you getting closer what I want to avoid!”

There was a sigh form behind him – _sounds like Slaine-_ and a gloved hand covered his eyes.

“Hey, let go!” Calm tried to pull it off, but Slaine was surprisingly strong.

“Hold on a moment.”

“There is a ghost with us, I’d rather see where it’s going!” he would have complained more but then there came a hiss and a flash of rainbow light Calm could almost see despite the hand covering his sight. As soon as it was over, Slaine released him. Calm blinked, and realized the apparition was gone.

“It was some aldnoah leaking from the pipe.” Slaine explained when both Calm and Inaho – _oh so he had his eyes covered too_ \- turned to him. “It wouldn’t have blinded you permanently, but you guys would have been stunned for a while.”

“Oh…sorry for complaining then, thanks.”

“It’s alright, it was an understandable reaction.” Slaine smiled at him and turned to Inaho “I’m surprised _you_ didn’t complain, however.”

“You obviously had something in mind, I was waiting to see where it would lead.” Inaho said offhandedly. He stared at where the leakage had been “Can that be easily fixed? And is it dangerous in anyway?”

“All you have to do is find the hole in the pipe where it’s coming from and fix it. The aldnoah leaks and forms over time, then explodes like you just saw. After it does so, it’s harmless to approach the place until it forms again. But…” here he began hesitating “I wasn’t taught the exact mechanics of it, sorry, so I can’t explain why, but if the Deucalion is similar to the martian landing castles…the aldnoah is intrinsically connected to all its power and so a leak of it might contain electricity.”

“In other words, aldnoah itself wouldn’t have killed us, but electricity within it might have been strong enough to give us a lethal shot.”

“Yes.”

“…it seems I was hasty in asking if you held a grudge against me for shooting you-”

“Dude, you asked him that? You can’t ask that, and holy shit why _wouldn’t_ he hold a grudge if you-”

“You mean, because if I still had a grudge I could have killed you right now? I guess I could have let you two get blinded and throw you and Calm-”

“What? Why me?”

“He’d need to kill you too so there were no witnesses. Afterwards he could just claim he was no longer near us while the incident happened.”

“Hum…but the doctor knew I’d go after you and I’d be without an alibi, not to mention I don’t know if there are monitoring cameras around…it would be too risky …”

“Which is why you might have done it if you really wanted me dead. After all, all your ideas in battle were precarious.”

“…excuse me?”

Calm groaned _Oh god not again_ “Hold on you two. Before you start again, let me at least make my exit.”

“You’re leaving?”

“I’m dead hungry; I didn’t have breakfast and it’s almost lunch time. I’m also relieved and disappointed on how this ghost turned but I think food will also solve that. You guys coming?”

“I’ve had breakfast, so I think I’ll still see more of the Deucalion before considering lunch.” Inaho said.

“Hum, sure. Slaine?”

Slaine shrugged “Same, I guess.”

“Fine then. It was nice meeting you, Slaine. Try to not kill Inaho, we sorta need him alive right now.”

Slaine chuckled, “I promise I’ll try.”

“One more thing though” and Calm became suddenly serious “…look, me and Inaho and our friends won’t have any issue with it but…I can’t vouch for the rest so maybe don’t mention that you like…you know…”

The blond blinked but then smiled “I understand. Thank you.”

Calm left, hoping he’d meet the girls soon. Inaho had, on his own, gone as close as he could to making a new friend. He needed to see their shocked expressions when he told them.

***

They watched him leave.

“Calm…is a very nice person isn’t he?”

“Yes, a shame he loses his head when it comes to women.”

“I almost feel bad for the way we laughed back then. He must have been completely confused.”

“Considering what he said, I was surprised that was your reaction. I expected you to admonish him.”

“He didn’t know what he was saying, so it was hard to be too angry. And then I started laughing and couldn’t get mad. I was surprised you were too.”

“He tried to equate me to Seylum for you, it was inevitable that I’d find it amusing, though I do admit my reaction was excessive.”

“Really? You could barely call it a reaction compared to mine.”

“It was disproportionate considering my usual response.”

“Ah, figures. Well,” he moved his hand as if to pat Inaho’s shoulder, but for reasons the brunet couldn’t fathom, hastily withdrew it before he could do so “It’s fine to do that once in a while.”

“Maybe. Now, shall we continue exploring?”

“I guess. Choose the way you’ll go and I’ll pick another one for myself.”

“…we could go together.”

“Together? Did saving you from the discharge make me useful then?”

“No. I don’t plan on going anywhere such a thing is needed again. But while we were making our way, you weren’t bad company so continuing our walking around won’t be detrimental or bothersome.”

“Thank you. I think checking the rest out with you will be fine.”

They began walking side by side.

A pause. Then—

“Wait a minute…that means that when you wanted to go alone before, it was because you thought I’d be bothersome and would hinder you!?”

“It means you were impressive enough to change my evaluation of you positively within a brief period of time.”

“I guess if you put it like that… _no, that doesn’t change the issue at all!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: an anon questioned (well, called it jarring more like it) the whole thing with there being aldnoah and electricity in my fic. Here's myexplanation for doing that: [click here](http://fabelyn.tumblr.com/post/114012166578/hi-im-enjoying-your-a-z-fic-but-there-are-some)
> 
> -For those that don't know: extra canon info on Inaho has revealed he was bullied as a child, when he and his sister were in an orphanage. And what he did to the bullies...well...it'll be mentioned later on...
> 
> -I always wonder how aldnoah works. All Asseylum did was activate it, how do they make sure it only works on the specific ship? I imagine it must run through the ship, along with electricity, hence why becoming inactive affects it all. Which made me then think..."what if this aldnoah leaked?". As for the specific scenario in this chapter...I imagine that had the trio not gone there someone else would have and they'd ask asseylum about it.
> 
> -Although in s2 we do see Inaho's current room...I feel like a lot of space must be lost if all rooms were that small. I imagine people low in the hierarchy get to share rooms with more people. Inaho and Calm, as part of the main deucalion force in s2, got a room upgrade.
> 
> -Judging by things Calm has said in canon, while clearly he's better at reading situations than Inaho is, he too has his monents of saying sumb things, though he is a good person.
> 
> -I was, and still am, extremely hesitant about the scene where Slaine mentions he's bi. Ultimately I decided to leave it but I'm still wondering about it....
> 
> -Just because a patient thinks he's fine isn't reason to release him. But hey, Yagarai gives alcohol to recovering alcoholics so I question his doctoring skills...
> 
> -Thank you for all the comments, they help a lot. Feel free to give suggestions or ask questions


	4. Doryphore Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Doryphore: One who draws attention to minor errors made by others, particularly in a pestering way._

Inko awoke with a groan; it felt like all her muscles ached in protest.

She did consider not getting out of the bed that day. After all, things on the –what was it called again? – _Deucalion_ were still new and so not that organized; not to mention she was one of the main people they had to thank for even reaching this place, surely they’d allow her one little day in her bunk…

Her stomach’s demand for food turned out to be stronger than her body’s need for rest, however, so she had no choice but to resign herself to her fate and get up. But between her late waking up and delay, she was now setting up to have her first meal at lunch time.

_I hope this doesn’t mess up my sleep cycle, I was having enough difficulty waking up as it was…_

The corridors were deserted.

_Figures, everyone’s having a nice long breakfast to deal with yesterday. Oh please let there still be some warm food when I get there…oh wait, I hear voices. Hold on, I know recognize that tone…_

It was an easy to distinguish voice; that monotone could only belong to one person. Still, Inko was slightly thrown off by the fact that Inaho seemed to be actually talking with someone. Not just grunting in reply or correcting the poor guy, but in genuine conversation.

_What is going on? It looks like they’re talking…battle strategies? God, as if we don’t have enough of those drilled into us during training, who is he talking to-_

Inko turned a corner and found herself face to face with Inaho and…someone.

It had to be the boy she heard Inaho had rescued from the martians. There was no way there had been such a cute foreign guy with them and she hadn’t noticed before now.

There was an awkward pause when they all stopped in front of each other; Inko noticed that both she and the new boy momentarily paused and glanced at Inaho, expecting introductions, but Inko recovered her senses.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Inko Amefumi.” she said with a slight bow; knowing Inaho would never introduce them.

“I’m Slaine, it’s a pleasure,” he smiled, and Inko could swear her heart skipped a bit, “I’m not sure how much has been said, but I –”

“Oh, we’ve all heard so much about you!” she cut in, “Like how you’ve been searching to protect Princess Asseylum–” It was such a romantic tale, “–but you’re terran like us and Inaho rescued you from the martians!”

Was it her imagination or had Slaine’s smile become more fixed?

“Right, Inaho… _rescued_ …me,” he said it in an oddly strained voice, side eyeing Inaho with an expression she couldn’t decipher.

And had Inaho’s mouth just twitched upwards for a second? And did his sudden attention to his tablet seemed like avoiding eye contact? No, surely not, that wasn’t like him at all.

“Have you guys eaten yet? I’m going to grab a bite right now.”

Inaho lifted his eyes and looked at her with tiny indications of a frown. “So were we. You were going in the wrong direction.”

Inko’s face heated. Bad enough that she made such an embarrassing mistake in front of Inaho, but now the first impression the new guy would have of her is that she was an idiot.

Slaine, however, smiled sympathetically. “Inaho told me this ship is also new to all of you. I think it’s only normal you wouldn’t know how to navigate yet. If I didn’t have Inaho to guide me I’d have gotten lost too.”

Her expression cleared, but Inaho was now outright frowning. “Why are you lying? You managed to find me just fine this morn-”

“I-I had a map!”

“So does Inko-”

_“Orange, stop talking!”_

Inko giggled –wondering where the hell “orange” came from- and tried to reassure the frazzled boy. “It’s fine, really.” she said while Inaho muttered: “oh, I see, you were trying to be polite” under his breath. “I’m one of Inaho’s few friends. I’m used to his behavior.”

Inaho began walking and they followed after him, Slaine now looking more worried than before Inko had spoken. “You mean his…tactlessness isn’t just with me and Calm? He’s like this with _everyone_?”

 _He has met Calm?_ “Yup, even with our superiors.”

“…was he like this with Princess Asseylum too?”

It was still weird, hearing her being called a princess. Still, noticing the glare he was giving Inaho, Inko tried to mend things. “W-well, they didn’t speak enough for him to say anything really bad. I think…b-but she wouldn’t have minded if he had, she’s so nice!” It wasn’t working. “A-and he did help her a lot. He’s the one that rescued her from the streets and brought her with us; and he kept her secret about being a princess from everyone…”

That worked; Slaine’s shoulders relaxed. “I suppose…thank you for that, Inaho.” he ground out.

“I didn’t do it for-”

“So!” Inko clapped her hands and exclaimed loudly, interrupting Inaho before he could somehow screw up the goodwill she had just managed to scrounge up for him. “So, what were you two talking about before? It sounded like battle strategies?”

“Ah, we were discussing ways the battle with Femianne could have gone. That’s the name of the Martian woman Inaho and two others fought yesterday.”

“Oooh, it was a woman? You know, I was one of the other two kataphrakts there.”

“I apologize, I didn’t know. Thank you for your help during the battle.”

“I-it wasn’t much. But anyway, she’s gone now, why make up strategies for her?”

“Well, it was just an exercise really; we were wondering if we could have beaten her if the Deucalion had never come and we had managed to dodge the fist it destroyed for us.”

 _That sounds boring, wait…_ she turned to look at Inaho. “ _You_ were willingly in a discussion over pointless battle tactics? Why?”

Inaho shrugged indifferently. “She was an enemy we both knew and fought; it was a good way to gauge Slaine’s knowledge and abilities. And for him, mine.”

Slaine chuckled. “That sounds so clinical. Just admit near the end it had turned into a competition of who could make a believable end of battle where they were to be thanked for it.”

“That’s another form of evaluation…Bat.”

“So you say, Orange.”

 _What’s with these nicknames?_ “But that’s not what I heard. You guys seemed to be discussing how kats work?”

“Sometimes we needed to explain how our machines functioned to explain why a certain maneuver would work, as we have no knowledge on each other’s engine of choice.”

“I’m impressed Inaho even bothered to go and explain things so meticulously.” She said to the blond “I haven’t seen him speak so much since he wrote a fifteen page essay detailing to our teacher why she was wrong on a subject.”

Slaine tried to hide his snort with a cough, and failed. _Wow, he looks so much better when he’s really smiling_.

“You make it sound unreasonable.” Inaho said to her, though his eyes were assessing Slaine trying to reign in his laughter. “I would say more, but it’s usually futile. From what I’ve gathered so far of Slaine, I felt that –unlike my usual audience– his attention span and knowledge meant he’d manage to take in a third of all I said.”

“Hey!”

“What? That was a compliment.”

“Compliment, _how_?”

Inko giggled at the two. _They get along well…for Inaho’s standards_. And then what he had said sunk in. “Wait a minute… _I’m_ part of your usual audience! _Inaho!_ "

***

Despite the curiosity surrounding Asseylum’s true identity, it seemed like her status meant even the most curious gave her space, and so she could sit with Inaho’s friends without being bothered.

Slaine on the other hand…

Nina glanced pityingly at where he had been swallowed by a throng of people, unable to even have lunch.

Calm was glaring, so she nudged him. “Stop being so obviously jealous.”

“I- I’m not! It’s just that they’re making so much noise.” Calm’s lying was transparent; he glanced at the crowd again and groaned. “Oh look, he has some male admires too, maybe he should stick to those!”

Nina thought there was a very big difference between having male or female admirers and was surprised Calm of all people wouldn’t see it, but ignored the comment.

She glanced at Inaho. He was looking blatantly at the throng that surrounded Slaine and, after a moment, seemed to reach a conclusion that had him turning to Asseylum, who was happily eating at their table, seemingly oblivious to the blond’s plight.

“Are you not going to help him out?” the brunet asked, voicing what the rest of his friends had been wondering.

Asseylum glanced at where they could barely make out the top of Slaine’s head amidst the crowd and smiled brightly. “Why? He’s surrounded by such nice people wanting to meet him, he must be happy right now!” she sounded half wistful, as if she too wished to be in that situation.

Nina glanced at Inko and could feel they had the same thought: far be it for them to contradict what a princess said about someone she knew the most about but…even from this distance they could see Slaine definitely didn’t look at all happy, just really uncomfortable.

Someone from their table stood up, and it was with no little surprise that they watched Inaho walk to the crowd, say something that turned the excited babble into varying sounds of indignation and then pull Slaine from its center, dragging him back to their table by the wrist.

Slaine looked worse for wear, but his face held a comical look; as if he was trying to look cross when he was laughing instead.

“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say to them.” he said, lips twitching madly as he tried to keep his expression sour.

“It was the truth and you clearly agree. Now eat already.”

The blond looked as if he was considering arguing, but then Asseylum nudged him and pointed to the food eagerly, and he began eating and listening to her, equally excited.

“I’m surprised you even went and rescued him, Inaho.” Inko pointed out. The boy gave the barest hint of a shrug in response.

“Magbaredge should be calling us for a tactical meeting soon; if he took any longer to start eating we would be delayed.”

“Inaho!” Nina chided him; not that she had expected anything different, but the new boy would surely find it hurtful if Inaho was so cold-

Surprisingly Calm and Slaine turned to her and replied at the same time.

“Don’t worry, he’s already used to it.”

“Don’t worry, I’m already used to it.”

They glanced at each other over Inaho’s head and chuckled. Then Slaine turned as if to start paying attention to Asseylum again, but Inaho stopped him.

“Why have you become so unkempt?” he demanded. Slaine blinked in confusion then, embarrassed, began to fix his overly crooked shirt.

“Ah! There were so many people I couldn’t hear them all over each other, so some began pulling at my shirt…”

“Did they pull at your hair too?” Inaho motioned his mussed hair.

Slaine blushed and Nina couldn’t help but giggle. When Inaho’s unwavering attention turned to her she stammered. “I…I think it’s because his hair looks fluffy? I think they must have been petting him. N-not that that’s nice to do without the person’s permission!”

Asseylum beamed. “He _does_ have nice hair!”

“You are too kind, Your Highness! But my hair is nothing compared to yours!”

“Slaine, please just call me–” she stopped at the same time Slaine stiffened, because Inaho was now petting his hair.

“Orange, just what are you doing?” he moved to remove him, but Inaho batted his hand away.

“It’s indeed soft, but I don’t see why they’d make a fuss over it.” he stated, finally stopping.

“Don’t just go doing that to people!”

“Why? You let all of them do it.”

“I…well…I didn’t exactly _let_ them…but anyway, none of them were _you!_ ”

“I don’t understand why you’re making an issue out of–”

Nina droned out the conversation, turning to the other girls.

“They’re such good friends already!” Asseylum whispered to them, pointing to the pair still arguing.

Eddelrittuo looked like she was trying hard to not show how much she disbelieved the princess’s assessment, Nina and Inko giggled but didn’t exactly disagree.

***

Rayet clicked her tongue in annoyance; the new boy was a huge disappointment.

She had, as always, been invited to sit at Inko’s table but had refused, preferring to sit further away to better observe their new addition.

She disliked what she saw.

The red haired girl had hoped the so called Slaine would be as enraged at martians as she was, but instead the guy was clearly idolizing the peppy princess, hanging onto her every word with a disgusting sappy look.

Even the fun prospect of seeing Inaho suffer while having to take care of him ended in failure; the brunet didn’t look at all disgruntled or frazzled despite the supposed task of having to interact with someone by force. Which wasn’t to say he didn’t mind it. It was practically impossible to decipher his feelings when he never had any expression at all. If anything, the one bothered by the arrangement was Slaine, as he kept reacting badly the few times Inaho said something specifically aimed at him. _Then again, it could be because it’s interrupting his concentration on the martian._

It was with no amount of relief that Rayet saw the blond and brunet being told to go to the Captain. If she had to watch that adoring look for any longer she might have thrown something.

_Why? Blondie speaks like someone half her age, what’s so wonderful about sheltered childishness? And how can he like her so much, if he had to deal with martians for so long?_

It unnerved her.

***

Slaine was torn. On one hand, he resented that the call to a meeting hadn’t included Princess Asseylum –even if she did not have the necessary knowledge to help in a strategy meeting, as a princess she should be at least invited to attend if she wished– but at the same time he was glad she wouldn’t get to hear his tale of the web of betrayal that had surrounded her, as well as the fact that she had been left where she was clearly happy; eating with Inaho’s friends.

It helped that Inaho Kaizuka himself wasn’t there.

He glanced at the younger boy walking alongside him to the meeting room. He was rude, tactless and disregarded hierarchy. God knows what he had already said to the princess (though knowing Eddelrittuo, she wouldn’t have let him go very far) who in her kindness was sure to have forgiven every slight. The less contact he had with her, the better.

It surprised him to realize this was the reason he didn’t want them near, and not fear of what he’d do to her.

In fact...despite having been around him all day, only now was he finally reflecting on what Inaho Kaizuka could mean for Her Highness’ future and safety.

_Inaho Kaizuka..._

From all he’d seen, Orange wasn’t a bad person like he had initially assumed. He wasn’t exactly a good person either, as his kindest actions always seemed to occur only when he saw an advantage to them. Yet despite being so logically driven Inaho had seemed…lazy.

 _No, not lazy,_ he told himself, _unassuming, and with no ambition maybe_. Yes, Inaho’s singular ambition seemed to be to make sure they all survived, but with as little trouble as possible. He didn’t seem the type to push others unless it was the last resort. From what little he had managed to gleam from Asseylum, Inaho had indeed protected her and kept her secret…but then, her identity hadn’t really been necessary before they found the Deucalion.

It was something to be weary of: Inaho saw no reason to use Princess Asseylum against her will _now_ –and why would he, when she was so willing to help them? – but if she ever disagreed and there was no other choice…

Something in his gut told him Inaho _could_ be trusted. But logically speaking there was no reason to wholeheartedly believe that. Princess Asseylum was naïve and sheltered, so Slaine would have to protect her himself. After all, her own people turned against her when they saw fit, so why wouldn’t these people, as nice as they seemed, do the same if it meant protecting their own?

“What’s on your mind?” the question woke Slaine from his reflections.

“What?”

“What were you thinking about? You were looking at me with an expression I couldn’t define.”

Slaine hesitated, and quickened his pace to hide his uncertainty. He felt guilty, even though he didn’t know why. Inaho hadn’t been exactly courteous and any help he’d given had clearly been due to orders. But Slaine had still enjoyed his annoying company, somehow, and it made him feel that maybe Inaho didn’t deserve his assessment of him…

_Or am I just so used to the martian treatment even he seems like a good deal in comparison? I’ll tell him the truth, it’s not as if Inaho would withhold a negative opinion for my sake anyway…_

“I’ll tell you, but first a question of my own.” he finally said, slowing down again but not turning to face the brunet.

“Fine.”

“Why did you help Princess Asseylum, back when you found her on the street disguised as a terran?” It was how they had met, according to her.

“She would have died if she had not come with us.”

“So there was no ulterior motive for bringing her along? No need for more hands on deck wherever you were going?” He finally turned his face sideways and found that Inaho was visibly frowning.

“I see, so this is how you think of me?”

“No. I think you honestly did help her because it was the right thing to do and nothing else, but I wanted to make sure.” He sighed. “And hearing confirmation doesn’t help, I hoped it would…”

“Help what?”

“I’m sorry.” Why was he apologizing? “But I realized I can’t fully trust you. I feel like…you don’t want to hurt or use Princess Asseylum. However, you _will_ do it if it’s the only way to save others among this ship, and therefore I can never really relax knowing that.” He stopped talking before his mouth could try to apologize again. He felt wretched.

Inaho studied him intently “Once again I can’t grasp at why you make such a big deal out of this.” He replied, with the barest hint of a sigh, “I don’t deny I will do it, if I absolutely must, because I have people important to me I will _not_ allow to get hurt.” The small emotion in his tone surprised Slaine, but then it was gone again. “However that goes for everyone. People aren’t normally as altruistic and selfless as Seylum is. Even kind people still have those they want to protect more. And you’re the same; like I told Magbaredge when you first came here, you will fight us all if it’s for her sake. I don’t see why this is such a concern. If the time comes where we must fight, we will do so then. If you live everyday suspicious of everyone for a slight that hasn’t even happened yet you will be completely miserable.”

“…even so, I would rather do that than risk anything like that attempt on her life again.”

“Impressive, but misguided.”

Slaine stopped walking, uncomprehending. “Explain.”

Inaho took two steps forward before also coming to a halt and turning to face the blond. “By all means don’t embrace any plans we have with her immediately; question, consider and be suspicious if you must. Don’t spill personal information on her if it’s not needed. However, going so far as to act distrustful of anyone at any moment won’t protect her more. It’ll alienate you. And I know you’re about to say you don’t care. But tell me how you’ll manage to be there for her if everyone else is to be wary of you? And not to mention…if people perceive you being hostile, they’ll be so in return, and since you’re close to her she might suffer backlash. And finally, there is the fact she is bound to notice your feelings eventually, and considering her personality she’ll probably be hurt.”

“…you sound like you’re talking from experience.” Slaine said, more so he could divert Inaho’s attention while his mind took in what he had said.

“And you like you’re trying to avoid the issue by asking me that question.” The brunet’s retort was on point, but came out a little too quickly. He seemed to realize it and composed himself, explaining offhandedly. “My sister and I tried to do that for each other once, and it was an absolute failure.”

“You have a sister?” Slaine tried to keep his horror at there being a female Inaho walking around out of his face.

Inaho’s shoulder relaxed and his lips turned subtly upwards. “Yes, and you’ll definitely react like everyone else and not believe we are siblings when you meet her.”

That reassured him, somewhat. Faltering, Slaine began walking again, and Inaho followed suit. “Thank you for the advice. It’s the first time you tell me something about yourself.” he said, feeling his mood lighten.

“I have, once, you just didn’t realize it. And you haven’t said anything about yourself either.”

Slaine chuckled. “We somehow skipped the usual small talk and went straight to military stuff, didn’t we? I don’t even know your birthday or favorite color, but I think I have a very good idea of how you move in battle. Then again...I wouldn’t even be able to answer the usual questions. I barely could when Her Highness asked me when we met…” The realization depressed him.

Inaho took out his tablet. “I could research a list of questions one usually asks as ’small talk’ and you can fill in the ones you know. Like your measurements–”

“No, there’s no need for a list– wait, my _measurements_?!”

“Calm always asks them.”

“From what I’ve seen, I’m going to guess he asks that at women? Either way, that is not an acceptable question.”

“…point taken.”

“Inaho…did Calm–”

“He never asked Seylum. He didn’t have contact with her before, and now he’s too cowed by her status to do it.”

“Good. Maybe I should pay more attention to him instead of you.”

Inaho momentarily ceased moving to stare at him. “Did you not consider what I just said?”

Slaine lightly pushed him back into walking. “I was kidding. I heard what you said, and you might have a point.”

“Might?”

“Fine, you seem to have a point so I’ll try to not act like everyone is about to stab her in the back at any moment.”

“Before now, were you already constantly distrusting us? You are quite an actor, I believed your actions and reactions had been genuine so far.”

 _You have to be, to survive Cruhteo and his retinue, but…_ “No, I wasn’t,” he admitted, “I was too overwhelmed by all this sudden change so I hadn’t considered it before walking with you right now. And I had only thought _you_ a threat…”

“So your judgment was based on personal dislike?” Inaho sounded slightly disappointed, it offended Slaine.

“No, I based it on the fact that so far, you seem to be the one most capable with pulling something dangerous and succeeding."

Inaho nodded. “That makes sense, for an initial assessment.”

_He…almost sounds pleased. Did he think I was complimenting him? I…guess I sort of was…_

The brunet looked as if he might say something else, but instead he came to a stop once again and looked to the door now in front of them. “We’re here.”

“Oh, right.” Slaine had lost track of their directions, and hadn’t noticed them reaching the meeting room. Nerves suddenly hit him; how would he be treated? Especially when they realized he would be useless, along with how he’d behaved the day before. He steeled himself for what was to come–

Inaho reached out and petted his hair again. The motion mechanical, like he knew how to do it in theory but hadn’t done it before.

“H-Hey!” Slaine quickly pushed the other’s hand away “I told you not to do that, Orange! Why are you doing this again?”

“Good, you’re angry again.”

“You…you _wanted_ to make me angry?”

“It’s preferable to how you were just now.”

“…what expression did I have on my face?”

“None. You were blank.”

“You should be the last person to mind that!”

“It just doesn’t fit you, somehow.”

 _But being angry_ does _?_ “I’m a trained soldier Or- _Inaho_. It’s expected that I have discipline enough to not show my emotions when the time calls for it.”

“There’s no reason to hide them right now.” Inaho said, then stopped and made a face. “But there was no reason for me to do anything either.” He looked at his own hand as if trying to determine its actions.

Exasperated, Slaine thought to teach him a lesson, so reached out and tousled Inaho’s hair. “ _There_ , payback, how does that make you feel?” he asked, and then chuckled at how ridiculous the boy looked with his hair all messed up.

Inaho checked his own reflection on his tablet. “…I didn’t mess up yours…”

Annoyance and humor were replaced by remorse. _It’s true, he didn’t do that to mine, and it did help calm my nerves even if I’m sure it’s not what he intended..._ “Sorry.” Slaine apologized, “I’ll fix it.” he reached out and began trying to tidy it up again.

“You are surprisingly gentle for a soldier.”

Was it sarcasm? A jibe? It didn’t feel like one, but Inaho’s tone was too hard to determine. Not sure how to answer –or feel–, Slaine ignored it. “Your hair is thinner than it looks…” he mused.

Inaho responded by grabbing one of the hands carding through his hair by the wrist and moving it near his face to examine. “Is it? You’re wearing gloves; doesn’t that hinder discerning things by touch?”

Before he could reply, the door beside them opened and Magbaredge stepped out.

***

It had been a scene straight out of one of those romance flicks Mizusaki loved to watch when they were alone.

If it had been anyone other than Kaizuka Junior, that hand holding and hair caressing right when they had been summoned to a meeting would have warranted a serious talking to about priorities.

As it was, Magbaredge fully believed Slaine’s explanation (for Kaizuka had decided none was needed and said nothing) that the brunet had only been examining his gloves. As for Slaine’s touch…he had tried explaining that, but with his reason being: “I was fixing his hair because I made it untidy,” the poor boy had quickly shut up and turned bright crimson. Magbaredge didn’t see the issue: obviously they had been physically fighting; it was a more logical conclusion than Kaizuka Junior doing the usual teenage hormonal thing that led to tousled hair.

And certainly their actions during the meeting were only proving her point.

"I just told you! Right after I spoke to him–"

"No, from what you said there was a time lapse. He might have mentioned meeting you to someone else, who was probably a spy and could have convinced him you were the one tricking him. Moreover, it might not have even been him that made the announcement. It could have been someone else using an illusion, could it not?"

"Now you’re going too far. While his seeming so well was probably fake, to presume that the Emperor has no say in those announcements is preposterous. If it were true, then why wasn’t he more confined? Why didn’t he mention anything to me when I spoke to him?"

"Bat-"

They were _insufferable_. It had clearly been a mistake to have Kaizuka in charge of Slaine.

Slaine…clearly he had been very well trained; he was polite and respectful like someone evidently used to properly dealing with authority.

Kaizuka ruined it. He wouldn’t allow Slaine to remain serious one minute without some remark that had the boy forgetting himself to reply with equal bite. Magbaredge had assumed their animosity would lessen with time, but she was wrong. It didn’t help that Kaizuka was clearly enjoying it.

And if the situation wasn’t bad enough, soon Slaine began trying to add cutting remarks about Kaizuka into any dialogue.

She would have kicked them out, but Kaizuka Junior was their asset, and Slaine turned out to be well versed in Martian weaponry and tactics, making him valuable as well.

She tuned in to their conversation again only to find they had moved on from discussing the Emperor’s involvement in Asseylum’s assassination attempt to currently _arguing_ over the best strategy to use to evacuate the crew should they land on water.

How did they even reach that point? Evacuation hadn’t even been mentioned.

It was one hour into the conference and she had reached her limit.

“ _Enough_ you two!” she raised her voice. “This is a serious discussion, if you do not cease to act like children I will kick both of you out. Yes, Kaizuka Junior,” she added, seeing him raise his brow, “regardless of how useful both of you are, I _will_ remove you.”

Slaine paled visibly, and even as Magbaredge wondered if her tone had been too harsh, Kaizuka once again tried to provoke him. Only this time the blond ignored it, instead bowing towards Magbaredge, body taut.

“I sincerely apologize for my behavior.” He said, still bowing, voice clearly showing he meant it “And for Inaho’s as well.”

“Mine? You–”

Magbaredge rolled her eyes and interrupted him. “Really, Kaizuka Junior? You’ll pick a fight with his attempt to get you pardoned too?”

Surprisingly, the boy shut up, and showed signs of being taken aback. _Ah, he hadn’t realized that was Slaine’s intention._ _Troublesome; he can’t read people as well as he assumes. And speaking of the blond…_

“Straighten up, Slaine.” Magbaredge said, and was obeyed immediately. She sighed. “You don’t need to act so stiffly. Just try to ignore Kaizuka Junior and concentrate on what I ask; you’ve been doing well so far.” Slaine’s shoulder relaxed visibly and he nodded, but his eyes remained downcast. She turned to the other boy; “And as for you, be quiet and answer only when told to do so, without any added commentary regarding Slaine. No, I don’t want to hear any counter arguments, you’re responsible for most of it anyway. Now, back to what’s important, considering the believed locations of the landing castles and Deucalion’s speed, if we-”

**

Slaine was angry, again. Only, it felt different than the norm. He wasn’t lashing out, instead walking away from the meeting room –their conversation with Magbaredge over less than an hour after she had snapped at their behavior– in cold, silent fury, walking fast and not looking at Inaho.

It bothered the brunet. _Maybe because this is unusual for him…_

He couldn’t quite grasp the specifics of why Slaine was like this right now, but he could figure out a general direction, so he decided to prod him by saying, “We–” he stopped, reprimanded himself for the falsehood even if it had been Slaine’s fault for so easily being riled up, and rectified it, “I went too far, especially in a serious discussion.” He hadn’t meant to, either; it was unprofessional, pointless and dangerous to waste valuable planning time like that; he had been having too much fun bantering, it wasn’t like him.

Slaine stopped walking in front of him, so he stopped too. Then, too fast, Slaine smashed his hand into the wall. Inaho grimaced. “Why did you do that, that must–”

The blond turned around, seething. “Of _course_ we went too far! In a strategy meeting with our superior and we were acting like that!” Slaine rushed a hand through his hair, hyperventilating “How could I have done so much insubordination? The punishment we might face–”

“We won’t be punished. And if you were so worried about that, why is it now of all time you decide there’s blame to share? Unlike with when I shot you down, this time the fault wasn’t mostly on you.”

Slaine didn’t immediately snap back that the shooting hadn’t been his fault, instead he calmed down somewhat and blinked at Inaho in confusion. “It’s true you were the one that mostly started our arguing today…but your words themselves wouldn’t have troubled or hindered our conversation if I hadn’t kept making a big deal out of them. The Captain was mad because we kept interrupting to act like unruly kids, and in that behavior we are both to blame.”

_Something...isn’t right here. It sounds logical, but is it really fine to so quickly discard insults aimed at you but fault the fact you defended yourself?_

“If you were that worried about punishment, why not try to put all the blame on me?”

Slaine stiffened. “How dare–” he stopped and deflated immediately. “Oh, I guess with my earlier talk it’s expected. No, I wouldn’t try to pin it on you to help myself, it’s not right.”

_It’s not right to distrust someone simply because they have the potential to become a threat, either, yet you were willing to do that…_

It only confirmed what Inaho had already figured out: Slaine prioritized Seylum over himself, and was generally a good person. Still…while he too would always choose Yuki first, he felt Slaine’s actions had something troublesome to them…

He ceased his line of thought when he noticed Slaine trying to surreptitiously check his own hand.

“Flex–” he begun, but stopped when he saw Slaine was already doing that. _So he knows how to deal with this sort of injury._ “Is it broken or sprained?”

Slaine shook his head. “No, it’s fine I guess.”

“Hm. If that were true you wouldn’t have the felt the need to verify it. It’s probably hurting right now, which is why you worried. You shouldn’t have punched the wall to begin with, that was pointless and potentially harmful.” Inaho got close and took his hand to examine it.

“You’re really…” Slaine hesitated, grasping for the correct word. “…tactile? I expected the opposite.”

“Interesting, most people accuse me of disliking human contact.” He pressed a finger into a joint to see if there was an answering spam, not mentioning those who said that were correct, somewhat. Mostly, he just didn’t seek it out.

“I guess I can imagine why. Initially with your personality I also–” Slaine hissed suddenly as Inaho pressed another part and pulled his hand away.

The younger boy didn’t particularly mind its removal, as he had managed to come to a conclusion. “From your reaction only two knuckles are mildly bruised.” When the blond nodded but made no other move Inaho was somewhat puzzled. “Are you not going to remove your glove to check?”

Slaine blinked as if he hadn’t even considered that. “I–”

“Slaine, Inaho! There you are!”

Even now, seeing the change Seylum’s presence made on Slaine remained an impressive sight.

“Princess!” he turned towards her voice, face alight with happiness and then tried to bow, which she stopped and instead grabbed his shoulder and tugged. Eddelrittuo trailed behind her with her usual disapproving gaze.

“None of that! Anyway, it’s great I found you two, I was told you both knew where I can reach the outside deck. Won’t you show me where it is? I want to look at the sky.”

 _I doubt there are many things Slaine would refuse you…_ Inaho considered as Slaine heartily assented.

“Inaho? Won’t you join us?” she asked.

He would have said yes, but was stopped by Magbaredge’s voice.

“Kaizuka Junior?” the older woman appeared from where they had just come from. She seemed momentarily taken aback by Slaine’s presence – _she assumed we’d go separate ways. Why?_ – and Slaine quickly went back to his rigid body language when he saw her. “Seems like I still have to talk to you.”

“You could have said so when we were still in the same room.”

“…I forgot” she ground out. “You two were getting on my nerves so much I was set on just seeing you leave.”

 _Unprofessional and emotional,_ Inaho thought, but didn’t voice it since his own behavior hadn’t been exemplary either. Besides, he could see it would be best not to push his luck; assigning Slaine to him had turned out well, but her next petty revenge might not.

And speaking of Slaine…he had gone slightly pale at the reminder of earlier.

“Is it with me alone?”

“Yes, it has to do with your chores.”

“Fine, but first tell Slaine you won’t be punishing him.”

Slaine inhaled sharply. Asseylum looked confused, but even so latched onto Slaine’s arm with worry. _What would she do if he did receive punishment…_ Inaho wondered, but felt no inclination to test it even as a joke; not with Slaine reacting the way he was.

Magbaredge blinked. “Punishment?” she frowned and turned to Slaine. “Like I said before, you behavior was inappropriate but not nearly enough to deserve some form of sanction, especially when it’s so clear reprimanding you was enough.”

Tension visibly left Slaine, and Asseylum returned to smiling once again. “What about Inaho?” he asked.

_He inflates his emotions too much; he acts like he would shoot me if he so much as suspected I might be a threat…but he can’t loathe me that much if he’s worried about my future. Or maybe this is him being polite?_

“Kaizuka Junior…no, he isn’t getting any punishment either.” Magbaredge’s tone seemed to imply she wished it weren’t so. “Are you satisfied?” she demanded of Inaho, “wherever you are or not, let’s talk.”

Not bothering to reply since it hadn’t been a question, Inaho turned instead to Asseylum. “Slaine can take you outside.” he dismissed her.

Slaine made a face Inaho couldn’t quite place and hesitated. _Reluctance to go without me? No, most definitely not, it must be he disagrees with how I addressed Seylum._

The princess pouted, but waved him goodbye nonetheless and dragged Slaine away. The blond looked back at Inaho one more time, his mouth opened as if to say one final thing, but he quickly closed it and nodded before going back to giving Asseylum all his attention. Eddelrittuo followed, looking more pleased now that at least Inaho wouldn’t be going with them.

_She and Slaine will find common ground speaking ill against me and my treatment of Seylum. Or not, I doubt they’ll even remember me in five minutes._

It bothered him to realize his thoughts wouldn’t stray from that path. It made no sense; it was no concern of his.

“You really wanted to go with them, huh?” Magbaredge’s voice brought him back.

“Hm? Why do you assume that?”

“It’s been more than a minute since they’ve gone out of sight and you haven’t taken your eyes off where they went. And your face looks…well…less vacant than usual.”

 _I suppose that might be the reason I was having those thoughts. Certainly anything will turn out to be more interesting than what she’s about to say to me._ “What did you want?”

“Fine, be evasive if you want. First thing: your sister has petitioned three times for me to take you off the front-”

“No.” his answer was curt but clear.

“…I thought you would say that. She did have some good points; such as deserved rest, time required to heal and come to terms with what you’ve seen–”

“I’m sound of mind and body, as Dr. Yagarai can attest to. And I’ll submit myself to another evaluation but I think you’re aware it won’t change the results. There’s no reason to remove me from my position.” He wondered just what Yuki was thinking. Probably, she wasn’t. Inaho wouldn’t be much safer removed of his duties, not in their current situation.

Magbaredge sighed. “I do understand her feelings but…as Captain I must consider what is best for our survival, and you continuing as you have done _is_ our best chance so far. So long as I don’t see it taking a toll on you, that is.” Inaho felt the veiled threat was foolish; didn’t she realize she was only planting the suggestion that he should hide any symptoms of trauma from her? Not that he would; a fighter too emotionally hurt was danger for himself and everyone else. “That was the main thing, but I also wanted to say it’s fine to stop serving as Slaine’s-”

“No.” Inaho said again, equally as fast. This time, however, Magbaredge was taken aback by his answer.

“No?” she raised one eyebrow. “I thought you would be pleased.”

“Not particularly; my usual duties have been suspended for now so this hasn’t hindered me.”

Magbaredge groaned and massaged her temple. “Kaizuka Junior…Inaho…I wasn’t questioning your ability or availability for the task. It’s clear you two are still at odds, and at this point there is little still necessary to do for Slaine, so it’s best for both of you if someone else–”

“No.” Inaho repeated, more forcibly, his irritation coming off as a condescending tone. “It would require passing onto someone else all I’ve already gone through with Slaine, as well as what’s still needed. As you just said, little is left to do, it’ll be more troublesome to do this now.”

“Even if it means finally getting rid of Slaine?”

“As I said–”

Magbaredge’s lips suddenly twitched into a small smile. “You don’t want to get rid of him do you?”

 _This conversation is getting repetitive._ “Again, this hasn’t upset any of my daily routine, and Slaine has been smart enough to not require too much hard work. The task hasn’t been as strenuous as you hoped it would be, and I don’t particularly mind continuing it. It’s less work to do so then to hand him to another at this point”

Magbaredege was still looking amused, for some reason. “What about Slaine? Does he also not mind the current arrengement?”

_Slaine…if Slaine had the choice…_

“His opinion on this matter is unimportant. I’m the one that will have more work to do if you go through with this. His personal opinion of me shouldn’t matter either; I doubt you’ll find he has any complaints about how thorough I’ve been. And my decision is to see this to its end. Did you have anything else to say to me?”

Even his words hadn’t diminished her smile, it was disconcerting him somewhat. “No, I think I’ve heard…more than what I expected to hear, and certainly more than what you’ve said.” Inaho blinked; Magbaredge’s words made no sense, but she gave him no leeway to ask. “I have duties to go back to. Why don’t you join your charge and the two girls outside? Good day, Kaizuka Junior.” She dismissed him and walked away, leaving him nonplussed.

He had nothing better to do, so he went to them.

The first one he saw when he got to the roof was Eddelrittuo; clinging to the door, clearly scared to move another inch, even if it meant leaving Asseylum with Slaine, a thought that clearly displeased her given the downward curl of her mouth.

_She is possibly the only one around that manages to have some aversion to him. Interesting, I should be the one in a position to feel like that. Then again, her issue seems to stem from his closeness to Seylum, and despite that, she is less peeved about his familiarity to her when compared to me…_

He looked to where the princess and the terran were; he couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance, but their faces were open books as Asseylum animatedly gesticulated towards some seagulls while Slaine enthusiastically replied to her.

“Is he like that only with Seylum?”

“It’s Princess Asseylum to you, terran” the maid snapped back, “…and what do you mean?”

“Slaine. Is he only that happy and...” he had to think of which word best described it, “…vibrant when he’s near her?”

Eddelrittuo hesitated as she glanced at the two, as if searching for something to be offended about. After a second she deflated.

“Yes,” she said in a defeated pout, “but that’s not surprising, Her Highness is special.”

_Special in general or special for him? Probably both._

He watched them; both blue eyed and blond and with similar reactions…they seemed like siblings to him.

He decided not to say that; the maid’s affronted reaction would be too over the top. But he’d keep that in mind to tell Slaine later, to see how far he’d go.

Inaho hesitated and turned to leave.

“Aren’t you going to join them?” Eddelrittuo asked in surprise.

“No.” T _hey’ll be happier without me_. He left.

***

Dinner was more subdued than lunch, with curious people just staring at their table from a distance.

Not that it would make any difference to Slaine, since now it was Inko, Calm and Nina pestering Asseylum and him with questions.

Inaho ate quietly, concentrating on his food while the noise from their chatter filled his ears.

“So Slaine was your tutor?”

“Oh yes! He taught me so much about Earth!”

“I-It was nothing, Princess!” Slaine blushed.

As Asseylum once again asked Slaine to stop calling her with such formality, Inaho tuned out the conversation, mind drifting back to an exchange he once had with her…

“You were wrong.” He said, halting the chatter as people looked at him in confusion.

“What?” Slaine asked.

“You were the one that told her that the sky was blue due to diffraction. But that was incorrect; it’s blue because of Rayleigh scattering.”

Slaine’s reaction was…different. Rather than fight Inaho on it, or scowl but grudgingly admit his mistake like he had been doing before, the blond instead turned pale. “Are you…sure?” he asked in a timid voice. Next to him, Asseylum’s constant smiling stopped and she frowned at Inaho.

Not seeing any issue in it, Inaho handed him his tablet, the page on Rayleigh scattering already on the screen. “Read that, it explains everything.”

Slaine read it quickly, and as he did so he seemed to…shrink for some reason. When he handed back the tablet with a ’thank you’, Slaine’s voice was strangely meek.

“Slaine–” Asseylum began, but the blond himself interrupted her.

“I apologize, Princess Asseylum, it seems in the end I failed as your tutor.” He said it with a small smile which Inaho felt was wrong.

“Oh no, Slaine! You–”

Shockingly, Slaine once again cut her off, this time by standing up. “I’m sorry Princess and everyone, but I think I’m full.” Inaho opened his mouth to point out he had barely eaten, but Slaine rushed through without giving him a chance to do so. “So if you will all excuse me, I’m leaving.”

With that, Slaine turned and left the mess hall with speed.

“That was peculiar.” Inaho stated, brows creased as he stared at the exit Slaine had just gone through. “I wonder–” Someone lightly hit him over the head.

He turned sideways to see it had been Inko. “Inaho, you _idiot_!” she screeched. Looking around at the table, Inaho noticed how everyone –even Asseylum– looked upset.

“Inaho, that wasn’t very nice.” The princess chided, looking worriedly at Slaine’s plate.

Nina banged her hands on the table and then pointed angrily at Inaho. “You!” she barked out, then moved her hand to point at the door “Go after him and apologize! Now!”

“I don’t see why–” Again he was whacked over the head, but this time by Calm.

“Dude, just go!”

Glancing at his own half-finished dinner, Inaho sighed at the irrationality of it all but complied, as he doubted he’d be allowed to eat if he didn’t.

***

Slaine had no idea how much time had passed, as the sky had already been completely dark by the time he had gone outside. He didn’t care; his thoughts going on a loop of repeatedly putting him down…

And then the door was opened and from inside the Deucalion came Inaho, panting slightly. He looked at Slaine sitting down on the ground, leaning against the wall, hunched and head in his hands. The light spilling from beyond the doorway was strong enough that the brunet was probably seeing how red his eyes were.

_I must look pathetic._

But Inaho said nothing; leaving the door open, he went and sat down next to Slaine.

“I’ve been searching for you for a while. I was looking into the less crowded places we went to this morning, this was my fifth choice.” He stated, tone devoid of any complaining.

“…why were you searching for me?”

“I was told I should come and apologize.”

“And did you?”

There was a slight pause –possibly a hint of hesitation?– before Inaho replied, “…I don’t know what I should be apologizing for."

“Nothing.” Slaine sighed. “I’m sorry they made you come and say you’re sorry, there is no reason why you should.”

“…but something upset you. I’ve corrected you before; both alone and in front of people and you never reacted like this. What was different this time? Was it Asseylum’s presence? Is it because you didn’t like being wrong in front of her?”

“I…n-not exactly.” Inaho had come so close to the reason Slaine had a hard time not blurting it out “Just…it doesn’t matter. It’s a stupid reason.”

Another pause. Then–

“You’ve been wrong before…”

“Yes, you just mentioned that–”

“…so there’s a high chance you’re wrong now, and the reason won’t be stupid at all.”

Still Slaine hesitated. “From what I’ve seen, I’m sure you’ll see it as irrationally emotional.”

“Do you even care what I think of you?”

Slaine opened his mouth to give the answer both he and Inaho were expecting: no. Yet he found the word couldn’t come out.

He realized right then that he did, in fact, care about what Inaho thought of him. _Probably because our first meeting was a fight to see who got the upper hand. I guess I’ve unconsciously begun seeing him as someone to compete with?_

For once, it seemed like Inaho had managed to read his face –or maybe his lack of a response was all that was needed– because the boy’s eyes widened a small fraction. He turned his gaze away from Slaine and stared into the night sky. “…If the opinion you assume I have of you is as low as the opinion I assume you have of me, there’s nothing to worry about.”

It took him a second, but Slaine realized that was Inaho’s attempt at levity, and even maybe a joke, and let out a watery chuckle. “You have a point. Alright; you correcting me wasn’t the issue, so much as the fact that I needed correcting. Because of…because of my background.” He paused, but Inaho made no comment so he ploughed on. “When my father died, the single kind person to me was Princess Asseylum, and I was allowed to be by her side only because I could be useful to teach her about Earth. Now I find out I was repaying my gratitude by giving her wrong information.”

He could feel a lump on his throat. A normal person would give him space–

“There’s another reason too, isn’t there?”

–But he was stuck with Inaho.

“…my father. He–” _Remember, you don’t know how well his research was known, avoid mentioning it._ “–was always so busy, he barely gave me any attention. That’s why…I always treasured anything he said to me.”

“He was the one who told you about diffraction.” Not a question.

“I was ten when I asked about the sky and he told me that. I was so proud…I thought it meant he trusted in my intelligence, except now I see even that wasn’t true.”

 _Pathetic,_ he thought, and put his head in his arms so he didn’t have to look at Inaho’s reaction.

A hand tentatively touched his shoulder. Not to squeeze it or give any manner of comfort, but to poke it insistently.

“The only stupid thing here is your assumption that being wrong undermines any of it.”

“What?” Slaine looked up again in confusion. Satisfied with his attention, Inaho stopped prodding him.

“Seylum didn’t stand out when she was trying to appear terran. And she knew a decent amount about us. Why the sky is blue isn’t something she’d need to know, the majority of adults don’t. You did your task decently, none of the martians would have taught her better. As for your father, he gave you false information, but one that is nonetheless not something ten year old’s would learn either, so he was taking in account your age, but not belittling your intelligence by lying. When I was very young I too asked my sister about the sky. All she anwered was that it was just the way it was.”

“…thank you, Inaho.”

The brunet shrugged, standing up. “I just stated the truth. Now, it’s getting late, are you coming or will you stay out here some more? If we go back to the mess hall, we might still have time to eat the amount necessary to remain healthy.”

“Ah…I hadn’t realized you hadn’t finished your meal either, I’m sorry.”

“You weren’t the one who ordered me to drop everything to come after you, so it’s not on you to apologize for it.”

“Even so, it’s because of–”

“Are you coming with me? Or staying?”

“…I guess I’ll go. I’ve had years of only seeing a sky like this,” he lightly motioned to the starry sky, “I don’t feel like watching it any longer than necessary, and I’m hungry.” He stood up to leave and, when Inaho turned to go back inside, lightly nudged his shoulder “And…just so you know, you are annoying and have no awareness or regard for social cues…but I think my opinion of you could have been worse. I _have_ stopped trying to kill you, after all.”

For a second, Inaho’s lip twitched. “Ah, I thought you had given up because you realized you’d never succeed. But fair enough, despite all your faults I too don’t have the worst possible opinion of you.”

They walked back to the mess hall in a companionable silence.

Or would have, if not for Inaho.

“I hope you don’t expect me to stop correcting all your mistakes because of this.”

“…I don’t…but do you _have_ to make it sound like I’ll still make so many?”

“Considering how many blunders you’ve made so far…I expect to have to correct you at least ten times a day. This bearing in mind all the time I won’t be there to hear you gaffe.”

“Y-You… _Orange_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -an anon questioned the whole thing with there being aldnoah and electricity last chapter. Here's my explanation for doing that: [click here](http://fabelyn.tumblr.com/post/114012166578/hi-im-enjoying-your-a-z-fic-but-there-are-some)
> 
> -the sky thing: I always wondered just where Slaine learned that. All pointed to it being his father, which was an impressive thing for a little kid to be told, even if it wasn't the correct explanation.
> 
> -In light of the 2nd cour ending next week, next chapter will be something completly different. The title: "Flashforward to Wanweird". You guys might not like it.
> 
> -Last chapter some people seemed hesitant to point out mistakes that bothered them. Dont worry: I'm sorry if there's some stuff that goes through unnoticed by my beta and I, feel free to point out anything.
> 
> -Thank you for all your comments, they're great.


	5. Flashforward to Wanweird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanweird: _misfortune; ill or unhappy fate._

And in the future... 

 _"Stop it. You're grasping at straws, and that's just not like you. You're very, very smart,_ _Inaho_ _. You must have realized by now, right? This is the only way..."_  

 _"No, it isn't! I've just told you the other options!"_  

 _It didn't escape his notice he was the one being overemotional while the other revealed nothing, wearing only a small resigned smile and dead eyes. It's just another proof the situation was wrong, wrong, wrong._  

 _"They all have risks I'm not willing to take. Calm down and think; the chances of those working out are slim to none, so I still choose this way, since success is almost certain."_  

 _"Success?! How could–"_  

There were times people would wake up and for a few moments not recall what happened before they lost consciousness. 

Inaho does not have that mercy.  

He regains consciousness with his heart beating fast, recalling everything: the Kats, Slaine, the gun aimed at his head...Slaine. 

The sound of the gunshot still echoes in his ear. 

The boy opens his eyes and immediately notices one of them has been bandaged over. 

 _I see...I survived because the shot only went through my eye..._  

He blinks a few times, adjusting to the light and the loss of depth that comes with now having only half his sight and focuses on the ceiling and wall to his right. 

 _This is the Deucalion's medic bay..._  

Meaning Rayet had made it, and Yuki and the others were probably safe. The fact that it all hadn't been in vain brings him momentary relief. 

 _Better to concentrate on that and not on..._ but it's impossible; his thoughts don't stray from Slaine for more than a second before painfully going back to him. 

It certainly doesn't help that the last time he'd been laid on this bed had been when _–_  

That makes it all the worse. 

Trying to focus on anything but _him_ , Inaho tests his body: he feels sore all over but concludes the bullet to his head had hit no nerve, as he seems to still be able to move all his limbs. 

With difficulty, he lifts a hand to reach out and examine a strange weight on his chest. When it meets with a familiar circular object he can't help but suck in a breath and grasp it tightly. 

Slaine's pendant; still around his neck where the owner had last put it. 

 _They probably thought leaving this with me would bring some comfort._ Inaho thinks bitterly. Still, even if it doesn't have the use they intended for, he has no desire to be parted from the object. 

It is probably his last memento of Slaine after all. 

He turns his head to his now blind left side and sees someone he hadn't been aware of yet: Yuki, sleeping on a chair next to his bedside. 

His sister isn't one to easily sleep anywhere, meaning she must have been really stressed out to manage to rest sitting up like that. Unsurprisingly, given Inaho must have survived with some difficulty considering the severe lack of specialized medical equipment they had onboard. 

His first instinct is to let her have her sleep, but... 

 _"When I think about it, this was inevitable, wasn't it? This is what would have happened if you hadn't taken me aboard."_  

 _"So that makes this_ acceptable _?"_  

 _"It makes fate bearable. Though I guess now you're probably regretting not just leaving me behind back then."_  

 _"No. Never. And I don't see how it makes it better for you. Doesn't it hurt, knowing–"_  

 _"Of course it does. But it makes it okay too, don't you see? If this is how it ends no matter what, then at least I–"_  

"Yuki." He calls out, and finds his voice is hoarse. With effort, he manages to sit up enough to reach out and nudge her.  

Yuki jolts awake. She blinks, looking around in disorientation for a few seconds before landing her eyes on her brother. 

"Inaho!" she gasps out, looking teary with relief. 

Inaho is not about to let her have her moment; there is a reason he didn't allow her to rest. 

Before, he had always wondered what motivated people when they asked questions they knew the answer to. What was the point? Were they hoping if they asked others they'd hear a different answer? 

He hadn't understood before. But now...now he has a question on his lips and he knows what the answer _should_ be but even so....he needs to confirm it. 

"Slaine?" he rasps out. 

Yuki's expression is all the answer he needed, and feared. 

He doesn't cry, but emotion overtakes him. He can hear his blood rushing and his vision grows faint as his heart beats rapidly. His hand digs into the locket almost painfully. 

"Inaho!" Yuki calls out in alarm, and she seems so far away now... 

Inaho doesn't reply _–_ he can't _–_ nor does he try to fight the oncoming darkness. 

As futile as denying reality is, he still welcomes the chance to run away from it for a while longer and embraces unconsciousness wholeheartedly. 

His last thoughts are still on Slaine. 

 _"I'm glad you came to your senses. It means the world to me that you were so stubborn, it_ does _," his voice trembled on the verge of a sob for a second before going back to being stone cold, "But this has wasted too much time. So now, ready or not,_ _Inaho_ _Kaizuka_ _, Orange, for your friends and for your sister..._ run _, and don't look back."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I know everyone probably hoped for some fluffiness after the finale, but this chapter was...different...to mourn/celebrate the end of the anime, as well as remind/assure the readers that despite fluffly day-to-day shenanigans that have been happening and will keep happening for some time yet, my promise to deal with canon events (albeit very altered and twisted) still stands. Meaning that, among other things, Inaho will be losing that eye, even if the circunstances are changed. Which doesnt necessarily mean the ending will be unhappy.
> 
> - **An Important question** : _which do you guys prefer: wait two weeks for a 10k chapter, or have a 5k chapter next week and a 4k chapter the week after?_
> 
> You see, the next chapter (Accismus) is turning out long; it has just gone past 9k and might reach 10k when i add what's missing. Not only that, but I need to alter an important dialogue that had already been done, as the last few episodes made me realize I made a character too sharp and insightful, and there is no way this character has what it takes to have this conversation. So I need to alter that, and then i need to send my beta the whole 10k for them to correct, which takes time, and theyll then need to send back to me so i can fix stuff. Basically, to do all this with such a long chapter in a week means a rush job, which would probably mean more chances of mistakes. Luckily i noticed a break just past its halfway point that can be cut into another chapter. Thus, if readers prefer to continue the weekly dose, I can split the chapter into two smaller-than-usual ones. If not, I'll take two weeks to post it. Either way is fine by me. So please drop me an opinion or two. If none is given, my beta will pick what she prefers.


	6. Accismus Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accismus: _Feigning lack of interest in something while actually desiring it._

Slaine was the first to wake up in his quarters. He was relieved as he had worried his military training would wash away due to fatigue and the lax discipline of the Deucalion, but it seemed he could withstand a day without that happening, which went against most of Cruhteo’s belief regarding Slaine.

 _Cruhteo…_ he shuddered at the thought of what the count would do to him if he ever found him again. _But then…it’s his own fault for agreeing to train someone loyal to Princess Asseylum when he was thinking of plotting against her…_

The thought depressed him; Cruhteo had been terrible, but Slaine had at least trusted his integrity and loyalty towards the princess.

Shaking the thoughts away, he silently changed and left the room, but immediately outside he found himself with another dilemma; what now?

He twisted his hands, even the martians always had something for the lowly terran to do, however menial, yet these people couldn’t find any use for him. Was he truly that unwanted?

Well, his worth wouldn’t increase if he did nothing, so Slaine decided to train. He recalled the training grounds he had seen with Inaho the day before…

 _But am I even allowed there at any time?_ Inaho had never mentioned anything, but the boy clearly disregarded orders that didn’t interest him and probably had a privileged status considering his importance.

Slaine felt bad; he had wasted a day playing around instead of asking his guide about the important details like cleaning duty, usage of equipment and other things...

 _And speaking of Inaho, maybe he’ll wake soon?_ Despite his many faults and personality, Slaine found he liked his company. Most probably because it was the one person in the ship he could be himself with, even if that was because Inaho was the sort to either not care about rudeness or to have no problem replying in kind. Well, _maybe_ his personality wasn’t that bad, and _maybe_ he wasn’t that unkind, and _maybe_ they did have some interesting conversations…

 _Still_ , while he had Inaho's schedule with him, it said he'd still need to wait a while for the other to wake up on his own. He couldn’t exactly waste the early hours waiting for him, and he certainly couldn’t barge into his sleeping quarters to check; not to mention that just because Slaine was begrudgingly starting to enjoy his presence– not that he’d ever admit to it– it didn’t mean Inaho thought the same. Having to hang around Slaine any more than the absolute necessary might wear him out, so it might be wiser to avoid seeking him out. So what to do instead…

The idea came to him in a flash.

***

Inaho woke and shut off his alarm clock. The noise had been small, and muffled by it being under Inaho’s pillow, but still he heard Calm half grumble on the bunk over him, before going back to sleep.

It was unnecessary to wake up as early as he was doing, but research Inaho had read on explained sleeping too much could be detrimental, and in their current war situation, it might be better to get used to less hours of sleep, in case the Deucalion entered turbulent times ahead.

He sat up and turned on his tablet as usual. There wasn’t much to do; he could go grab breakfast on his own again, but he wanted to test out the efficiency and skill of the people assigned to kitchen duty, which meant he’d need to wait a while before going down to the mess hall.

Yes, reading on his tablet was the only thing…

_…no, there’s Slaine now. He’s probably awake already. But there isn’t anything left to show him, apart from mentioning a few more amenities…_

Inaho wasn’t good at social calls. The fact that he had friends was due to their patience and kindness to put up with him, and he treasured them for it, even if they couldn’t see it. He had managed to have long talks with Slaine yesterday, even if he doubted his friends would consider them ‘normal’, which was much more than he had managed in a long time; but could he manage to keep Slaine’s interest in his topics again? He might tire, like everyone had done. But he had lasted longer…

And just what would Slaine even _be_ doing at this hour? He didn’t even have a tablet –a slight Inaho was putting a lot of effort to fix– so after breakfast all he could do was exercise. Yes, that was it…

A memory of the night before came to him…

_“Inaho?”_

_The brunet stops walking to his room in surprise; they had said goodnight, he didn’t think there was anything else to say. “Yes?” he asks, turning around._

_Slaine is hesitant. “Tomorrow…will I be given my duties tomorrow?”_

_Inaho’s expression doesn’t give away his annoyance at the repeated question. “You’ve asked this before. Tomorrow everyone’s duties will resume as usual, with the changes due to our new ship put in place. You’ll be able to verify which fits you best and request that position. The person in charge of the area will test your capacity and by the day after tomorrow you should be placed somewhere.”_

_Slaine’s reaction has no satisfaction to it; he sighs, thanks Inaho and goes to his own room without much enthusiasm._

Inaho wondered why Slaine was so averse to remaining idle. Then again, the boy had nothing of his own to entertain himself with, and the person closest to him –Seylum– wasn’t someone he was comfortable talking in a friendly manner with.

How much exercise would Slaine even do? Would it be enough to fill his own morning, or would he stop and just stare at nothing while he waited for the rest of the crew…

Inaho stood up; he had a blond boy to find.

_And in such a lonely situation, he wouldn't resent my presence, would he?_

***

Inaho couldn’t stop staring at the bed.

It was empty, for one thing. He was sure it was Slaine’s though: he was the only one missing from the room, and everyone else was still sleeping.

The fact that the bed contained no Slaine wasn’t unexpected. Inaho had anticipated that the blond was probably an earlier riser than even him.

No, the thing that made it so he couldn’t move on was how the bed had been made up. It was tidy, too tidy.

Inaho moved his face closer to the covers so he could shine the light of his tablet –he couldn’t turn on the room’s light due to other occupants and the natural light coming from the small circular window was barely enough– and observe better.

Not one crease on the covers. Inaho himself had also been meticulous with his things, but this was looking pristine; even the pillow wasn’t crumpled. How long had he taken to do this? And he had done it with barely any light, no less. This wasn’t the work of a soldier, but a maid.

Had the martians been _this_ particular about orderliness? Or had Slaine done it to stave off boredom for a while longer?

Regardless, there was nothing else to see; he literally had nothing to call his own. Inaho made a mental note to find him something, a book or a crossword or anything.

He reached out and touched the covers with a hand: cold, Slaine had been gone a while.

_Now, the places he’ll most likely go are…_

***

It had been a great decision to exercise outside. The blue skies above him, the smell of fresh air and sea water and the wind on his face as he ran laps around the outside hull…it was the best.

Panting, Slaine stopped. He had counted a hundred laps since his last break, but he wasn’t sure how much that meant, as he had no idea what the length of the place really was, and the wind and fresh air were making him less exhausted than usual. He also had no way to measure the time, but the sun had just fully risen, so maybe he’d been at it for over an hour. Was it too early for breakfast yet? He wasn’t sure, so he decided to keep going a while longer; he wasn’t even perspiring much yet.

He began again, and when he turned to jog back towards the entrance, noticed someone watching him by the door. He froze, hands instinctively going up to make a salute but he managed to stop them.

It was hard to make them out well thanks to the sun’s glare and the distance, but it looked like…

The person turned to leave.

“Inaho?” Slaine called out to stop him from going, but the wind snatched his words, which weren’t that loud to begin with due to being slightly breathless from the workout, and the person left.

Cursing, he broke into a run, and rushed through the door, hoping Inaho hadn’t gotten very far–

He hadn’t. He was, in fact, sitting right inside the door, checking his tablet. Slaine skidded to a stop so fast he nearly fell over.

“Inaho?”

Inaho looked up at him. Standing above the sitting boy, Slaine could see he had been crossing out a list. “Is there something about my features today that make you question my identity? Or did something get in your eyes? Or were you uncertain if you had remembered my name right?”

“What? Oh! _Oh for the love of_ – I was questioning your being here!”

“Why? I thought yesterday had made you aware that I’m an early riser. Not to mention you should have a paper with my schedule.”

Slaine’s eyes narrowed. “ _Now_ you’re being purposely obtuse.”

Inaho’s lips quirked upwards for a fraction. “I wondered if you would notice. Though I do question why my presence would be that unexpected to you, it’s simply that I knew you’d be awake and came to see what you’d be doing at this hour. Incidentally,” he said, going back to look at the screen, “why did you choose outside as opposed to the actual training grounds or eating breakfast? Those were my first two choices.”

 _He made a list of_ – _of course he did._ Groaning, Slaine slumped to the ground opposite Inaho, leaning against the wall. “How do you know I didn’t eat first?”

“I checked and there were no signs of utensils or plates having been used. Why didn’t you eat?”

“I don’t think it’s possible? Didn’t you say the food would be locked?”

“Normally yes, but they haven't succeeded in finding the keys to lock the kitchen, so for now everything is still open.”

“Well, I wasn't aware, so I decided to go straight to exercising.”

“Hm. And you chose outside because of the view? While I understand your nostalgia and that fresh air has its positive sides, considering the temperature and the wind, this might have been more detrimental to your health.” He paused in a way that made Slaine feel he was hesitating, and scrutinized the older boy’s face. “Even if you do look very healthy right now.” He added begrudgingly.

Slaine didn’t know what to make of the comment; be embarrassed since it felt like praise, or scold him for talking like he was an animal? He wasn’t sure, so he decided to not mention it. “I’m aware it isn’t the ideal place. But this is much warmer than I’m used to; landing castles were colder.” Much colder, especially when you were too lowly to deserve having precious heating spent on. “And I’m not planning on making a habit out of this. I just wasn’t sure if I was allowed to use the training area–”

“This again?” Inaho cut him, his face almost showing an expression of annoyance. He moved and changed positions so he was now sitting next to Slaine, shoulders touching, as he showed him the tablet screen. “Look.” he indicated a map of all floors. “The areas inaccessible to the general public are these.” certain rooms became painted red. “If you wish to memorize them I’ll lend you this tablet but it’s not necessary because any forbidden rooms are locked. And why would they want to discourage people from exercising?”

“To maintain order, of course.” Slaine frowned, “You need to lock any rooms you don’t want people in?”

“Martians didn’t lock their things?”

“Well…yes but not every forbidden thing. Mostly they forbade us to enter without proper authorization and we obeyed.”

“May I remind you this ship is staffed with anyone that was around at the time we took off. The crew wasn't chosen like martians were; people’s backgrounds aren’t as certain and even if the higher ups felt they could trust everyone despite knowing little about them, there’s also the fact we have a few children with us.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“You did nothing wrong, so why apologize?”

“I guess.” Feeling foolish, he tried changing the subject. “Err, where would you have tried if I wasn’t here?” he asked, because he had seen another sentence on Inaho’s list.

“Seylum’s room”

“What?!”

“Not inside it, clearly that’s the last thing you’d do. But I could see you wasting time by standing guard outside her door.”

“…actually that’s not a bad idea. Where _is_ her room? I don’t think I was ever told…” He tried to find it on the map, but Inaho hastily removed it from the screen.

“No.” Inaho said, almost petulantly.

“What? Why?”

“By now the staff should have breakfast ready, we should go.” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead standing up and nudging Slaine with his foot until the other did the same.

“Fine, fine, but you’ll tell me that later, you hear?”

But Inaho wasn’t paying attention, instead looking through the door and into the outside, gaze dissecting something.

“When did you wake up?”

“Just as the sun began to rise.” he sighed.

“Why are you having that reaction?”

“Oh, I wanted to see the sky as the sun rose, but by the time I made my way here it had just done so.”

“You’ll have your chance. So you’ve been running laps all this time?”

“I’ve stopped for short breaks, but yes.”

“Hm, you have a good stamina.”

“I-It wasn’t much, I wasn’t even running really, and the atmosphere helped me. But speaking of that, I wished I knew how much I did, but I don’t have the measurements of the place.”

“I do.” Inaho said and began walking while bringing up yet another image of the Deucalion on the tablet. Slaine walked beside him. “I can calculate the size of the area you were circling. Did you keep count of how many laps you did? And were you always running around the same radius?”

“Yes I kept count and yes I made sure to keep myself around ten meters away from the edge.”

“I'll consider human error when it comes to the radius but assume you kept a precise count. Let’s see then…”

***

“So cute!"

“So fluffy!"

“Are you sure you don’t want more? Please! Have as much as you like–”

Slaine was glad they had come so early to breakfast. So far there were only two occupied tables and three food staff on duty, yet Slaine was feeling slightly overwhelmed.

But it wasn’t bad; the people were being overly nice –even giving him more portions than he asked for– and he didn’t feel like he was in immediate danger like he would have if any martian had given him even a fraction of this attention.  

He made sure to show how grateful he was for the kind words and acts, bowing repeatedly while trying to not spill his platter of food.

Finally they stopped fawning over him, so after making sure to show his gratitude one more time, he moved away from the food stand and glanced at the tables; one table filled with women waved him over, another of men and women officers politely signaled that he could sit with them if he wished.

Finally, he spotted Inaho on a faraway table, almost hidden from view. He made sure to thank the other people for their invitations and made his way over to the brunet, who glanced at him with his usual nonchalance.

“You could sit in those other tables. ” he pointed out, not bothering to lift his face from his plate when Slaine had approached. The blond had to hold himself back from bowing and apologizing. It seemed that when it came to Inaho, he still had a sliver of pride left.

“If you didn’t want my company, explain to me why you sought me out, waited for me then told me to follow you to breakfast?”

Inaho’s expression remained unchanged, but at least he now looked up at Slaine. “I never said anything of the kind. You are, once again, inferring something I never said. I was simply pointing out that, if you so wished, you could have other company.”

“Then you’re blind, since you mustn’t have seen me thanking them but refusing.”

“Yes, it was impossible to miss, but you might have done that out of some social protocol to not leave me alone. I wanted to make sure you knew you’re allowed to go elsewhere.”

“ _Allo_ – As if I need your permission to do anything!” to prove his point, he sat down opposite the brunet.

Inaho was unfazed. “You seem to need to make sure you’re allowed to do anything at all.”

“Well, I don’t think you–” What was he going to say? That despite having nearly been killed by him, he somehow felt he could trust the boy to not punish him for stepping out of line? Maybe if he said that Inaho might not care enough to question it, but the boy liked knowing things and Slaine did not want to talk about his life with the martians if he could avoid it. “I don’t think you have the authority to boss me around, simple as that!”      

“I see.” Inaho replied, and went back to eating.

Sighing in frustration, Slaine looked back to his own food; it seemed like breakfast was Japanese dishes; fish, some fruit, eggs and rice. He reached for his cutlery and froze; he had failed to notice that they’d given him chopsticks.

 _Well…it can’t be too hard to use them…Slaine_ told himself as he tried holding them. They slipped from his fingers. He tried again and managed to hold them, but found he couldn’t pick up the rice, and then it slipped away again. Feeling his cheeks heat in embarrassment, he tried again–

“Wait,” Inaho said as his hand reached out and stopped Slaine’s from moving. “One you place on the line between your thumb and forefinger, and rest it on your middle finger.” With both hands he moved Slaine’s unresisting fingers into the position. “And the other one is held between the pads of your thumb and middle finger. One you always keep immobile while you move the other. Go on.”

Now it felt like his hand was burning along with his cheek. Even so, Slaine did as told and while he still needed a few seconds before he could clumsily manage to grab some rice, it worked.

Because he was finding it hard to look at Inaho’s face, Slaine said with a laugh, “I’m surprised you didn’t just chide me for not managing it.”

“You’re not Japanese, and even if you were, from what I’ve gathered martians follow western culture, it was only expected that you’d never dealt with chopsticks before.”

“I suppose. Thank you for helping me,” he said sincerely, and wondered what reason Inaho would give to explain why he even bothered.

To his surprise, Inaho gave him none, instead just going back to his breakfast.

They ate in silence, Slaine too busy savoring the tastes to bother and try to strike conversation.

Inaho, finishing his meal ahead of Slaine, was the first to break it. “What are your plans after this?”

“Hum, actually, I’m not sure; normally I’d wait for orders–”

“Don’t. What do you _want_ to do after breakfast?”

“Ah, well…if…if I may…I’d like to figure out what my duties will be.”

“Do you have anything you’d like to be placed in?”

“Ah, well, I’d need to know what exactly each one does here, since I think there will probably be some key differences with Mars–”

“Just go work in the front–”

“ _Nao,_ don’t just tell someone to go to the most dangerous job!”

Slaine blinked; there was an older woman next to their table, holding her own tray and looking exasperatedly at Inaho.

“You were there. He’s clearly suited to that task.”

She huffed, and sat down next to Inaho, forcibly pushing him away to make space for her.

“If there’s something else he’s good at and he prefers that, he should take it instead.” She turned to Slaine, her scowl dissolving into smiles when she talked to him. “Please don’t listen to my little brother, he has some silly ideas sometimes."

 _So this is the sister? He was right, she is nothing like him._ He quickly glanced at Inaho and found that the boy had been looking at him, too. Inaho raised an eyebrow as if to silently say “Well?” and Slaine had to hold the urge to chuckle. It didn’t help that Inaho’s lips were twitching upwards, either. Quickly, he went back to looking at the woman before he could start laughing. She was looking at his face as if searching for something.

“I don’t remember seeing you before…” she stiffened. “Wait…are you Slaine?”

Any tranquility he had been feeling immediately left as the sister started glaring at him. He wondered what he had done wrong…

“You tried to shoot my brother!”

Slaine flinched, she wasn’t wrong. “I’m sorry.” he hung his head.

“Sorry?! You–”

“Stop that, Yuki.” Inaho cut her, “You forget he also helped save us and Inko by joining forces.”

“Well, yes but then he–”

“And as for trying to shoot me,” he interrupted her again, an edge to his voice, “you weren’t there to see what happened. I don’t know who told you that information since I certainly didn’t, but he only threatened to shoot because my words led him to believe I was an enemy. He isn’t to blame.”

_That’s not what you said to me…_

Yuki's anger abated at the words. “I suppose if that’s how it went…I’m sorry, Slaine.” she said, sounding genuinely remorseful. “And now I see why you were talking about choosing your duties. Well, you should definitely look around and see what each one is doing and if there’s something you feel you like best, talk to the supervisor in the area so they can see if they can fit you in anything. And– oh! Did I even introduce myself? I'm Yuki Kaizuka."

“Thank you. I'm Slaine, nice to meet you. And it’s fine! Your anger was understandable.”

“No it wasn’t.” Inaho interjected, “Nor was your response.” He was speaking to Slaine “Defend your actions like you’ve done before. Why is it that when you need to explain yourself the most you become so docile?”

 _Because people angry at me are most likely to punish me if I dare speak out of turn…_ memories of being beaten, locked up and left without food again and again for doing such flooded his mind. “I…”

“Inaho! Slaine! Oh good, you guys are here!” Asseylum’s cheery voice saved him from his unwanted recollections. He turned just in time to see Asseylum sliding to sit next to him on the bench.

“Morning everyone.” she greeted.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning, Princess Asseylum!”

“You’re up early.”

Slaine considered kicking Inaho for not only being so _rude_ , but also not replying to her greeting. “That’s none of your–”

“It’s fine Slaine, besides, I _am_ up early. Not that any of you can say anything, however, since you all rose even earlier than I did. To tell you the truth, I’ve been so excited about all that’s happening that I couldn’t sleep much, so I decided to not waste my time in bed.”

 _So sweet…wait…_ “Where is Eddelrittuo?”

“Oh, she was sleeping and I didn’t want to bother her by waking her up.”

_I…think waking up and not finding you there will upset her much more than any loss of sleep…_

“Oh, Slaine, you know how to use those?” Asseylum pointed excitedly to the chopsticks in his hand “They gave those to me too, but I don’t know how to eat with them yet.”

“Oh, well, you–” Slaine automatically began to explain, and then stopped. “Actually…I didn’t know either until today, Inaho taught me, maybe it’s best if he teaches you too, since he knows how to use it better than I.”

Did Inaho understand what an honor it was to be allowed to teach the princess? Probably not, but judging by the prolonged stare he gave Slaine before turning to teach her, he at least realized handing the task to Inaho wasn’t something usual for him. It was disconcerting, not being the one to teach her things, it had been his only usefulness…

He noticed Inaho wasn’t touching Asseylum with his hands as much as he had with him, but merely nudging her hand with his fingers while he instructed her. Slaine felt relieved. _So he does hold some sliver of respect for her status if he isn’t being so familiar…_

“Say, Slaine, it looks like you’ve already finished, so why don’t I show you around right now?” Inaho’s sister said suddenly, there was something suspicious about the twinkle in her eye...

Inaho motioned as if to stand up and follow but she pushed him back down. “Oh no, you stay there and help Asseylum, I can handle Slaine on my own. Right Slaine?” she practically pulled him out of there.

Slaine disliked the thought of Asseylum totally alone with Inaho, but Yuki’s words were practically an order… “R-Right.” Slaine said obediently, being led to the exit.

As he looked at the table on last time, he noticed Inaho following them with his eyes, expression almost frowning.

“Sorry about that,” Yuki said when they were out of the mess hall, now walking unhurried, “I wanted to–” she stopped and giggled, “Well, it’s too early yet so maybe I’ll tell you later, when it’s more visible. Anyway, come on; let’s start with the crew tasked with keeping the order…”

***

 _What is she thinking?_ Inaho wondered staring at where Slaine and Yuki had gone. _That was uncharacteristic of her_.

“I’m sorry.” the words brought his attention back to Asseylum. “Go after them, I think I can manage.” she opened and closed her chopsticks to prove it.

“Go after whom? Yuki and Slaine?” a new voice asked, and now Inko joined them. “I just saw her drag him out here real fast. What was that about?”

“I'm not sure why she suddenly had that haste. And as for following them,” he turned to Asseylum, “there is no reason for me to do that.”

“Do you need a reason beyond wanting to?” the princess inquired.

“But I don’t want to, why would I?”

“Because he’s your friend and you enjoy his company?”

***

“Again, I’m sorry for my earlier behavior. Sometimes my protectiveness can be too exaggerated.”

“N-no that was fine!”

“It really wasn’t. I should have realized things weren’t as bad as it seemed when they told me the situation; because if so, Inaho wouldn’t be your friend already.”

*

“I don’t understand how you can possibly assume we’re friends.”

*

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think he sees me as a friend.”

*

“You’re always helping him.” Asseylum explained, and Inko –mouth full– nodded in agreement.

*

“He’s been helping you, hasn’t he?”

“Well…yes, but I think it’s because he was told to.”

*

“I was told to.”

“Oh please,” Inko said while waving so Nina could see and sit with them, “I know how smart you are; if you disliked it I’m sure–”

*

“–I’m sure he’d have already pushed the responsibility onto someone else.”

_Not exactly, he could have had reasons why he didn’t…_

*

_There are reasons why I didn’t._

“Even if I don’t mind the chore, that still doesn’t mean–”

*

“–that he sees me as a friend. We’re–”

*

“–always arguing.”

Asseylum blinked, considering his point. Nina looked slightly bemused. Inko, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes.

“I think you liked it.” she jabbed a chopstick at him, “Because why else pick so many fights if–”

*

“–he didn’t have some sort of fun with them?”

“I don’t think that means he likes me, it seems more that he enjoys my–”

*

“–reactions; they’re very varied so it’s entertaining.”

Asseylum smiled while the two other girls sneered, and Inaho realized how weak his argument was. He’d need to reflect on this, but first… “Regardless, there is still the matter of Slaine’s opinion.”

“Oh? What about–”

*

“–me?”

“Yes, do _you_ consider Nao a friend?”

“I…”

*

“–am sure he does!” Asseylum assured him.

Inaho wasn’t swayed. “His behavior says otherwise, he acts too differently–”

*

“–around him. I find I can’t help myself and end up being…well…very rude…hum…” Slaine glanced at his companion worriedly; would she take offense?

Yuki laughed.

*

Inko snorted. “If he hated it too much, wouldn't he have tried to avoid you by now?”

*

“Is it really that bad? You didn’t look like you were trying to avoid him.”

“Ah, well, actually…I guess it’s…nice…that I don’t feel like I have to measure my words with him? I feel–”

*

“Maybe he feels more relaxed around you then he does with other people.” Nina suggested. Asseylum nodded encouragingly.

Inaho felt the urge to sigh. “You two,” he motioned Inko and Nina, “should be aware of this already, but as a rule, people have always assured me the opposite: that being around me too long–”

*

“–tends to put them off. So it’s good to hear there’s someone that enjoys his personality.” Yuki beamed.

“Err, well, but even so, isn’t it too early to–”

*

“–say we’re already friends, even _if_ all you’ve said turns out to be correct?” Inaho amended.

Asseylum frowned. “Why? How long does it usually take–”

*

“–before you consider someone a friend?”

That was problematic, as he _didn’t_ have any friends. Asseylum wasn’t his friend; she was his savior and his light and his reason for living, she was too above him for him to dare call himself someone as equal as a friend. But she, in her goodness, probably saw him as one…

“Hum…I don’t usually seek out friends, but there are people” _well, there is_ one _person_ , “that considers me their friend and–”

*

“–they came to me. Just ask Inko and Nina to confirm it: only after a while did I understand that they considered me their friend, and I questioned how I felt for them and become conscious of feeling the same.”

“I think you should go and analyze what you feel for Slaine then” Asseylum suggested, undeterred.

“It seems necessary, so I will.”

The three blinked in unison, surprised it had been so easy, and then the princess clasped her hands in relief. “Good! Because Slaine–”

*

“My brother isn’t the sort to take the initiative on these things so if you want to be his friend you’ll need to–”

*

“–go for it. He's very shy you see; he never made friends with any of the martians because he was so timid.”

 _Considering what I know of martian racism towards terrans, I doubt that even if he were truly timid that was the only reason he had no friends._ The brunet decided to not voice that thought, instead focusing on the main issue at hand.

Inaho wasn’t at all convinced. Asseylum’s vision was too clouded by a positive view of everything; it was highly likely that Slaine had other reasons for being near him that weren’t friendship. Not to mention, even if he didn’t, it was too soon to say he wouldn’t change his mind and tire of him yet.

*

Slaine wasn’t at all convinced. Yuki’s vision was too clouded by a positive view of her brother; it was highly likely that Inaho had other reasons for still helping him that weren’t friendship. Not to mention, even if he didn’t, it was too soon to say he wouldn’t change his mind and tire of him yet.

 _I should change the subject._ “You really–”

*

“–care a lot about him.”

“Of course! He’s my dear friend!” then she sighed and deflated, “I just wish things–”

*

“–were different between us…”

“What? I’m sorry if I’m intruding, but I’m sure he cherishes you too.”

*

“He’s very fond of you. Very.” _Quite possibly to the point of worship._ Nina and Inko nodded in agreement.  

“Oh, I know he likes me, it’s just the way he shows it that’s an issue. He thinks he has to–”

*

“–protect me! Even though _he’s_ younger. And because he’s always trying to be an adult for me he never–”

*

“–really opens up to me, and because of that our relationship–”

*

“–becomes distant.” She sighed, “I wish he relied on me…”

Slaine was totally out of his depth, “I’m sure he does, in his own way.” He tried saying.

Yuki smiled. “Sorry for turning the conversation so depressing out of nowhere, I really shouldn’t be bothering you with my troubles, you don’t even know me.”

“Ah, it’s absolutely fine!”

“I promise to make it up to you. Oh, here we are. Follow me; I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

**

“And it’s not just him either; Eddelrittuo and I are in the same situation.” Asseylum said in melancholy. Then she shook herself and began smiling again. “Which is why it thrills me to see Slaine has someone he can be himself with here!”

Inaho opened his mouth to point out their friendship was only supposition at this point but was interrupted by a shriek.

“ _Your Highness!”_ Eddelrittuo rushed to her side, practically sobbing with relief. “Your Highness, I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Asseylum patted her in the back, trying to sooth her, “I’m sorry, you were sleeping so nicely I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Your Highness, it isn’t good to be out with…with…” she gestured to Inaho, words failing as if she couldn’t quite think of something to describe him that wasn’t insulting, “with this particularly rude terran.”

“Now Eddelrittuo, don't say that, Inaho has been extremely kind to us since the very start and you know that.” She smiled at them both in turn. “Why don’t you go grab something to eat?”

Pouting and glaring at Inaho, the maid left to obey since at least the princess wasn't _alone_ with the boy. “I suppose our conversation has ended.” Asseylum said specifically to Inaho. “What are your plans for now?”

“Regarding what you said or plans for the day?”

“Both.”

“I’ll consider what was said when I have some time. But right now I’ll return to my usual duties. What of you?”

“I haven’t been assigned anything due to my status.” Asseylum clearly disliked that. “So I have no idea. What about you two?”

“Oh, Nina and I will just do what we always do. You should be happy they aren't working you to the bone like they do us.”

“Well–”

“Talk to Dr. Yagarai, I doubt anyone will complain if you spend the day learning first aid and such in the infirmary.” Inaho suggested.

Asseylum didn’t look too thrilled. “I’d love to learn that, but I don’t want to bother our only doctor…”

“It would be an investment in case something happens that requires more than one decently trained doctor. Of course, he might be still slightly busy doing checkups on people.” Which he had delayed a while to give his full attention to Slaine when he had arrived, “But talk to him nonetheless so he can start training you when he’s free.”

“I hope my help is never required, then, but I understand, it’s a good suggestion, thank you!”

_I doubt your maid and your former teacher will agree, they probably want you to be pampered all day. Speaking of which…_

“There is something you can do for Slaine, if you have time.”

“Oooh, what is it?”

“Find something for him to read, he has nothing.” And then, because he could see where the three girls’ thoughts would lead them, “I’m simply being thorough with the task I was given. This doesn’t mean anything.”

Inko snorted, Nina giggled and Asseylum smiled and replied politely. “If you say so.”

“I do. Now, I need to go to my duties.” he said, and left.

He had some reflecting on Slaine to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Most ended up choosing to have a split chapter, as such here we are. pity, Marito's POV had to be left for next week...
> 
> -I hesitated a lot before adding that parallel conversation part. It's a device that works greta in visual mediums, but it's hard to pull off in written form, so I hope it didn't fail. 
> 
> -And on that: initially, to make the parallels bigger, I had planned to have only Asseylum talking to Inaho -to mirror only yuki with slaine- but the few last episodes showed me Asseylum did not have sufficient insight on Slaine to pull of such a conversation on her own, as her view of him is...frozen in time and rainbow lensed, so to speak. Thus i had to add other people. Pity, I had wanted to make asseylum have a bigger role due to her friendship with slaine, and this was supposed to be the part that rvealed how much she observed and understood him but...yeah, canon sunk that idea, as to ignore that i'd have to change her whole personality and all her actions and thought process shown in canon. Sad really.


	7. Accismus Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accismus: _Feigning lack of interest in something while actually desiring it._

Although physically he was fine, mentally Slaine felt completely drained. Being around so many people –most of which were his superiors– and having to be careful about what and how to say things for so long had been exhausting.

It must have shown on his face, because Yuki gave him a pitying look. “Sorry, I guess you must be tired of so much activity, huh? You mustn’t have fully recovered from your ordeal coming here yet.”

He didn’t want to tell her the truth, so he nodded and apologized.

“Hey, no need for that! It’ll be lunch time soon anyway, so let’s do like this: we’ll stop for a few hours since I have personal work anyway. And then in the afternoon I’ll come show you around to the people we haven’t greeted yet.”

Naturally, Slaine thanked her profusely for it. She laughed, “No need for all that. Anyway, it´s a good thing I did this and not my little brother. He doesn’t have the social skills and would probably just shove you towards whatever he thought was best for you.”

Slaine said nothing. It was true this sort of socializing was necessary and not something Inaho would have been able to do, but he still wished the other had been around as he felt more relaxed with his presence _. I wish she’d taken Inaho along…_ but he’d never voice that, as he was already imposing too much.

She patted him in the back suddenly, and he tried not to instinctively and visibly stiffen. “You were great! Pick whatever task you want and if we feel you have the skills to do it, you’ll get the position since everyone really liked you. Oh, wait a minute, let’s turn down this corridor instead, there’s one thing I want to check before lunch…”

She led them to a part he hadn’t been to before. As he walked inside he noticed the orange kataphrakt. "Is that...?"

"Yes, it's Nao's. Naturally it's more damaged than most so it’s there for special inspections before being moved to where the others are. And then we have that."

It was another kat, a larger one with a more camouflaged color.

“A kat? Is it a new model?”

"No, that’s…huh, where is it? It should be here..." Yuki said, looking around.

"Are you after something, Ms. Yuki? I can help you look."

"Oh, not much, just the control for the platform to get us up there. Someone must have taken to use it. Ugh, since I’m supposed to be in charge of this I have to keep tabs on it. Sorry Slaine, go rest and eat lunch or whatever, I’ll find you again later on."

"B-but your arm, I really don't–"

But Yuki was already rushing away. "See you!" she hollered before finally disappearing. 

Sighing, Slaine looked around and, realizing there wasn’t much to do, moved to check Inaho’s kataphrakt up close.

The sound of a hatch opening stopped him, and he turned back to the other kat to find someone leaving the cockpit. 

It turned out to be a very familiar brunet.

“Orange?” In his surprise, Slaine reverted back to the nickname. Inaho didn’t reply, instead he pressed something and a platform slowly took him down to the ground. 

“I think your sister was looking for that.” Slaine said when he approached, and pointed to the platform’s control in Inaho’s hand.

“If she asks the right people she’ll know where it is.” Inaho expressionlessly replied. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing, really. Ms. Yuki said she wanted to check on something but then left to find that platform’s control you have. That kat, is it a new prototype?”

“This one is a simulator. It’s not yet operational since they are still making sure its specs are accordingly accurate.”

“I see, and you were asked to check.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m one of the best they have, and with my reasonable knowledge of technology as well as my free time, I was chosen…what’s amusing you?” The last part asked when Slaine chuckled.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… normally people would show a little pride at those achievements.”

“You are hardly allowed to say that.”

“Why?”

“The few times I have tried pointing out your own accomplishments you tried to put them down.”

“I…” he could feel his cheeks heating and bowed his head. “It’s embarrassing so…”

“Oh, so your reddened face has been due to embarrassment.” Inaho stated as if he had just come to that conclusion. It made Slaine flush even more.

“I-I don’t blush that often!”

“You do. You are, in fact, doing so now.” Inaho’s lips twitched. “You are embarrassed over being embarrassed. That’s…very comical.”

“Well, what did you think it meant, if you didn’t think it was embarrassment?” Slaine asked to avoid the topic.

“Either you not being used to the heat, or anger.”

“Seriously? You _are_ weak when it comes to reading people, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think there’s any reason for us to remain here,” Inaho said abruptly, sounding suspiciously like someone trying to change topic, “let’s start walking back to the mess hall, lunch will be soon.”

“Sure.”

Their walk was awkward and silent. Slaine could feel Inaho constantly glancing at him.

 _But that,_ Slaine reflected, _is probably because I keep doing it to him._

He couldn’t help it; Yuki’s words had come back to him.

Did he consider Inaho a friend? At this point, the blond felt he probably did. But what about Inaho? It could be that Slaine was so used to being harshly treated that even indifference looked to him like friendship…

*

Their walk was awkward and silent. Inaho could feel Slaine constantly glancing at him.

 _But that_ , Inaho surmised, _is probably because I keep doing it to him._

He couldn’t avoid it; Asseylum’s words had come back to him.

Did he already consider Slaine a friend? From the reflections he had done, the brunet believed he probably did. But what about Slaine? It could be that Inaho was so used to being treated with impatience and annoyance that even politeness looked to him like friendship…

Slaine halted suddenly, so he followed suit. The blond was looking at a very familiar staircase and hesitating.

“We have time, go up if you want.” Inaho said. Slaine murmured thanks and went up to the outside deck, the brunet following close behind.

“…if I can, I’ll come back in time for sunset today. And Princess Asseylum might like that, too.” Slaine said, staring at the blue sky in his usual contentment.

Asseylum’s name reminded Inaho of something he had been pondering. “Were you the one who taught her close combat?”

Slaine blinked, the question totally unrelated to the sky having caught him off guard. “What? I…uh…yes? Wait, how do you know she can fight?”

“She threw me to the ground when we met.”

“ _What did you do to warrant that?!”_

“Nothing. I simply tapped her shoulder.”

He wondered if Slaine’s image of Asseylum would stop him from believing that. It didn’t.

“Oh…well…you met right after martians started attacking right? She must have been scared and she isn’t used to people touching her casually. Especially if unannounced. But how did you reason I might have been the one to teach her?”

“From what she says and how she acts, she has been exceedingly sheltered.” Inaho pointed out. Slaine stiffened and looked about to complain before hesitating and nodding reluctantly. “I can’t imagine martians, with their belief in their utmost superiority, and their shielded upbringing of Seylum, feeling the need to teach her that form of protection. To me, they’d be the type to simply surround her with bodyguards instead. Though it’s also hard to believe you’d suggest teaching her.”

“…you’re right; they had no intention of having her know anything of the kind, and neither had I.” Slaine sighed. “But she saw me learning some in my training and asked me to teach her. Since she wanted it, and I felt it might be something useful, I agreed to it, in secret.”

Curious, Inaho reached out–

Slaine caught his arm, twisted and sent him flying. 

“Really?” Slaine asked, standing over Inaho sprawled on the ground, “You couldn’t handle Asseylum but you thought you could her teacher?”

Inaho said nothing, so, sighing and shaking his head, Slaine extended his hand to help him up. Inaho took it–

–and with as much speed as he could muster, threw Slaine over him.

“H-Hey!” Slaine yelped indignantly, immediately picking himself up.

“That was to show you no matter how much you know of close combat, if you are caught unawares by someone that knows a decent amount of it too, you will have trouble.”

“Point taken. But now we’re even, so how about best of three?” Slaine was grinning as he suggested it.

 _It doesn’t matter if it’s a tie_. A small part of him thought. But it was overwhelmed by the rest of Inaho saying _Yes, just one more won’t hurt, and he looks excited to do it…_

Nodding they went back into position…

No one needed to count; somehow they had known when to start at the same time. Slaine was a little faster and more skilled, but ultimately Inaho succeeded to block and hold his hands to stop any chances of the blond managing to grab him. 

Inaho was considering how best to twist so as to completely incapacitate Slaine when he felt his legs being kicked from under him. He fell to the floor, but not without returning the favor, and Slaine was knocked down on top of him.

They rolled around, feet kicking and hands desperately searching for a hold while blocking each other’s attempts.

Finally, after a time Inaho couldn’t determine, he found himself face first into the floor; a well-placed knee, Slaine’s whole weight in his back and having his hands held tight behind him all making sure he was completely immobile.

“I…I win.” he heard Slaine pant from behind him. Breathless himself, Inaho simply nodded. His hands were released, and the weight over his hips shifted and left as Slaine moved to stand up.

Inaho turned so he was lying with his face to the sky instead, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly to steady his breath. He hadn’t gotten this agitated in a long time; the adrenaline rush of danger in battle never had this effect on him.

He noticed Slaine once again extending a hand to help him up, and this time took it.

“Ha…now _you’re_ finally flushed. Not a bad look on you.” Slaine was still smiling. 

“Hm, and you look better smiling, you should stop with that serious look so often.” Inaho retorted truthfully. 

Slaine sputtered. “M-Maybe I’d smile more if you weren’t so annoying!”

Inaho hesitated. _So is this how he truly feels? No, he’s still smiling…so it’s a joke?_

“Maybe you’d find me less annoying if I didn’t have to so constantly correct all your mistakes.” He hoped his expression gave away his own jest. 

It seemed so, as Slaine narrowed his eyes too comically for him to have taken actual offense.

“How dare you. Best of five?”

“Done.”

Slaine’s posture changed as he got ready again. He then glanced at their surroundings and –to Inaho’s annoyance– his smile fell. “Oh no, I hadn’t realized…”

Inaho turned to look at the same direction and immediately saw his problem: they were near the edge. Not too near; they still had a good fifteen meters to go, but it was still too close given neither had been paying attention.

“That was absurdly risky and foolish.” Inaho stated. Slaine flinched.

“Yes…I’m sorry for–”

“Don’t. I agreed to it. Next time–” had Slaine just looked surprised at the mention of a next time? “–let’s do this on the proper place for it; the training grounds. But now it may be best to go down to lunch, I think we’re very belated.”

Slaine’s smile came back. “Sure.”

***

As they walked, Slaine glanced furtively at his hands in wonder.

He had _asked_ Inaho for more fighting. 

At no point whatsoever had he flashbacked to the martians brutal training, even though normally a trick like being unexpectedly thrown to the ground like that would make him either lash out or stay still, remembering the pain.

Instead, he had _enjoyed_ it.

***

“Soooo, what were you doing that got you late for lunch?” Calm sniggered, while Inko zeroed in on a bruise Slaine was sporting on his neck.

Inaho shrugged. “We were testing our close combat skills.”

Calm snorted and shook his head. “Inaho, we have training grounds and clothes especially for that. Honestly, if it weren’t you, anyone else appearing that messy with buttons missing and bruise…I’d think any ‘close combat’ happened between the sheets.” He ended it with a wink.

Inko squeaked, Slaine choked on his food and Nina hit Calm over the head.

Inaho blinked. Slaine seemed to have understood what Calm meant, and whatever it was, was making him choke and flush in embarrassment. But he did that with ease so it didn’t mean much.

_Let’s see…in the sheets…ah._

“Oh, so we look like we just had sex?”

Slaine buried his face in his hands and Inko and Nina rushed to coo him, glaring at Calm and Inaho in turn.

Inaho kept going, “But if we just had sex and then walked around unkempt like this, wouldn’t it mean we just put our clothes on and walked out?” he grimaced. “That sounds highly unhygienic. I would change clothes first.” He nudged Slaine. “Wouldn’t you?”

Slaine, still flanked by Inko and Nina telling him he didn’t have to answer, peeked between his fingers and, as if the answer was being tortured out of him, mumbled, “I…I think I would also shower?”

Inaho nodded his approval. Encouraged by it, Slaine put down his hands and continued. “But…but hum, _not that we were doing anything of the kind_ , but there’s always the possibility that two people very into each other might…uhm…not feel like waiting and just…uh…do it where they can find an empty place.” At the glances from the others he hastily added, “I heard of that happening frequently in Count Cruhteo’s castle! People would just do it anywhere and sometimes they got caught on camera and got in trouble.”

“That sounds extremely unwise and unplanned. If I ever felt like having sex with someone I would schedule it with the person for best time and place.”

“Schedule? Orange, you can’t just–” he was interrupted by Calm placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Slaine, Slaine,” he said, shaking his head in unison with the girls. “Don’t bother man. I’m sure the thought of doing anything unplanned just turns him off, so let it go.”

Inaho felt a tinge of irritation at Calm’s words; he made him out to be much more planning driven than he was, and Slaine would misunderstand. The brunet opened his mouth to defend himself, but realized there was no reason why he should care if Slaine misunderstood or not, and shut it again.

Slaine saw the action, however, and decided to speak up for him. “I don’t think he’s that bad,” he told Calm earnestly, “I mean, if Inaho was that bothered by unplanned things we wouldn’t be in this state at all, as he’d never have agreed to test our skills randomly in the open, right?” He looked at Inaho questioningly.

Inaho blinked and nodded, silently pleased. “Exactly.”

Before anyone could say anything more, Slaine suddenly looked at his own clothes and pulled his shirt away from his body to see it better, prompting the girls to try stretch themselves in attempts to peek at his torso.

“But it seems we are really messy. I guess I’ll finally use that shower you showed me.” He stood up. “Is there some sort of rule for me to do so? Like a rotation schedule?”

“No.” Inaho answered, also getting up. “I’ll follow you since I’m in the same condition. Calm?”

“Huh? Oh! Nah man, I took a bath today already and I’m still fresh as a daisy.” With a lecherous grin, he turned to the girls, exposing his neck to them. “Why don’t you ladies check it out?”

Slaine and Inaho left the room to the sound of Calm being slapped.

***

Marito hated communal showers, so the Deucalion having cubicle ones was a blessing. He liked the privacy they gave him as they hid his scars from anyone else’s view. More than that, he also liked staying a few minutes after the shower just leaning against the wall, thinking about nothing as water dripped off him.

He was doing just that in an empty bathroom when he heard voices approaching. One was the easily identifiable monotone of Yuki’s brother, but the other he couldn’t place.

_Well, there are a lot of people I don’t know around here but if he’s hanging around Inaho I’m guessing it’s the new kid. What was his name? Something with S… ah, it doesn’t really matter._

Marito didn’t see the point in declaring he was there, either.

He silently listened as the boys took off their clothing, all the while talking.

“Oh? So the Deucalion has the technology to turn sea water into potable water?”

“Not quite. The water it takes the salt off isn’t healthy for drinking it seems, but it’s good enough for cleaning and showers.”

“That’s still impressive, maybe I’ll ask someone to show me the system.”

“I have it on my tablet, I’ll show you later.”

“Thank you, that’s very kind.”

Marito stifled his laughter at the thought of Inaho being considered kind and knowing the boy didn’t know how to handle it on the rare occasions someone thought so.

“…it’s just faster if I show you.”

Conversation was interrupted as he heard them enter their stalls.

The shower heads were turned on–

“Ah!” the new boy gasped and from the sound of it, backed into his stall door.

There was the sound of Inaho walking over and entering the guy’s cubicle…

“What is it?”

“S-Sorry. Nothing really, I’m just unused to shower water, and warm at that, after so long.”

“I see.”

Silence. There was the every clear absence of Inaho going back to his own stall.

“Orange–”

_Orange?! Kiddo, what kind of nickname is that?_

“–why are you still here?”

_Shit, I’ve seen too much porn to like where this is going. Get away from that stall Inaho, I do not want to listen to two underage boys having shower sex!_

“I’m waiting for you to overreact.”

“What? I’ve never overreacted! And why would I?”

“You’ve been getting flustered at the tiniest thing since I met you, Bat. So–”

_Oh god, ‘Bat’?!_

“–I naturally expected you to complain about ‘personal space invasion’ or something.”

“…did you come over here just for that?”

_Don’t say you ‘dropped the soap’, don’t say you ‘dropped the soap’._

“No, I came because you made a negative sound. But I waited since you not reacting is…abnormal given your behavior so far.”

“I…” Bat’s hesitation was nearly giving Marito a heart attack.

_Don’t you dare say it’s because you like his body, Bat. Kick him out; I can virtually hear the sleazy background music in my head!_

To his relief, Marito felt he could also practically hear ‘Bat’ gritting his teeth as he spit out the reply. “I do _not_ overreact. Those were normal reactions which anyone would have, but I suppose anything would seem like an overreaction when one usually shows as much expression as a rock. As for not minding you like this, I didn’t exactly have privacy before now, so this is nothing. Thank you for your concern, but get out.”

The sound of Inaho leaving and going back to his own stall was music to Marito's ears.

Blessed quietness only lasted a minute before the new kid spoke up again, now sounding timid. “You know…considering what I told you… _you_ should be the one uncomfortable with me seeing you like that…”

_What the hell did you tell him?!_

“Did it make you feel like doing something to me?”

_Holy shit._

“No! I-I didn’t even look at anything other than your head!"

 _Fuck, what kind of answer is that?! Junior is going to_ –

“Oh, will it make you feel better if I come back so you can verify it?”

_I fucking knew it. Shit, shit ,shit!_

Bat made a choked noise, “ _No_!” he finally screeched. “No, I do _not_ want to look at your body and I certainly do _not_ need to do so to be _absolutely_ sure I’m not interested in it!”

_You go, Bat!_

“Then I don’t see the issue. Now, how did baths work with the martians? You didn’t have much water at your disposal.”

There was a moment’s delay as Bat apparently adjusted to the sudden –and welcome– change of topic. “B-Barely any, really. Well, showering and how often you could do it depended a lot on how high up you were. Basically we–”

Marito tuned out as the boy began a detailed explanation on a convoluted bathing system involving a complicated rotation system, a special communal bathtub filled with cold recycled water mixed with a special martian concoction that cleaned in practically a second and other stuff. Honestly it sounded too boring for him to want to hear, but judging by Inaho’s questions the boy was finding this actually interesting.

His ears then picked up a hesitating pause in Slaine’s words and he resumed paying attention.

“…and well…like I said, it depended a lot on our ranks. I mean, I nearly didn’t…ah, a-anyway I don’t know how it worked for the very powerful, I guess they probably had a much more lenient and comfortable system for them…”

Marito could spot someone trying to cover up nearly revealing something bad from a mile away. And while Inaho didn’t have his baggage or experience, he was sure the boy must have picked up on it too. Doubtlessly he’d just ask the other what he had been about to say…

“I see. I’ll ask Seylum about how her bathing worked when I next see her.”

“Wha– don’t you dare ask such a thing!”

Marito frowned in confusion; had he overestimated Inaho’s capabilities and the boy hadn’t managed to pick up on the obvious dropped revelation?

The rest of their shower was spent with them bickering. Or at least, Bat angrily telling Inaho off with every sentence while Inaho parried his verbal blows with indifferent replies, which then turned back into amicable discussion of their water system.

Soon he could hear them dry themselves and put on their clothing to leave, Bat calmer but still berating the other somewhat. He heard their footsteps fade and finally felt it was safe enough to leave his place. Inaho probably already knew about his scars (he and his sister had changed his clothes when he passed out drunk more than once) but he did not want anyone else seeing them. He walked out of his stall, drying himself and putting on his clothes–

“Hold on, stay here.” he heard in the distance, and before he could so much as move, Inaho had rushed back and now stood by the entrance.

“Ah, I thought it might be you.” He said dispassionately and again left the bathroom.

Stupefied, he heard Bat’s voice asking about it and Inaho replying he had gone back to check something.

 _He knew_ , it dawned on Marito, _he must have seen the signs someone else was inside and known I was here all along. Wait, could it be…? Could it be he didn’t press the point and let the other change the subject because he knew they weren’t alone?_

Marito’s lips twitched. _So, even Inaho could turn out to have tact._ He couldn’t wait to be formally introduced to this new boy.

But before that, he needed to go to his quarters and burn all porn with shower sex scenarios.

***

“What did you go back for? ” Slaine asked, finally buttoning up his over shirt.

“I wanted to verify something. ” Inaho said, and gave no indication of planning on explaining it further.

“Fine, I guess... ”

“What were you about to say, back there, about how you nearly didn't...something?”

Slaine froze; he had hoped Inaho hadn’t picked up on that. “Ah...nothing much...just that I didn’t get the luxury of using the bath too often. Though I was lucky; since I was Princess Asseylum's tutor and thus constantly in her presence, they let me use it more than I'd normally do.” At least, more than the terran would have been allowed, if they could.

“I see. And what about your gloves?”

Slaine had just put them on. “What about them?” He stared at them looking for something wrong.

“Why are you still wearing those?”

“Oh. It was a necessary part of the martian uniform.” And since no martian wanted terran filth sullying their things, his usage of gloves had been very... _strictly_ enforced. “I...guess I got too used to wearing them. ” It wasn’t a lie. Still, he supposed no terrans would have any issue with his touch...

He removed them and looked at Inaho, waiting for a reaction. There was none; the brunet simply resumed walking.

It was...relievingly underwhelming.

“ _Slaine_! There you are!”

Any peace he had had went out the window as Inaho’s sister appeared from seemingly nowhere and latched onto him.

“Perfect, I was just looking for you! C’mon, we still have people to greet and everyone is dying to meet you! Sorry, Inaho, I’m stealing him away from you.”

“You can’t steal something that isn’t mine–”

“Whatever. Go talk to Asseylum in his absence. Let’s go!”

And Slaine was dragged away.

***

Inaho met Slaine again well into the night.

Well, “met” wasn’t the appropriate word, exactly; a more precise one would be “found”. Not that Inaho would admit he had been looking for the boy when he hadn’t been back by dinner time.

He heard Slaine before he saw him; heard his exaggerated thank yous and followed the voice to find Slaine bowing one last time before the door of the cleaning crew closed in front of him.

“Did you have dinner?” he asked, and Slaine jumped at the sound and spun around.

“Don’t do that. And yes, I had dinner.”

They fell into step as they walked in the direction of their rooms.

“What did you decide to work in?”

“I wanted to work in the front lines but…well…we’ll see.”

“With the skills you demonstrated you should be assigned that easily. Why do you–”

“Slaine!” an older woman Inaho didn’t know walked up to them. “Sorry I had to leave so suddenly, did you like dinner?”

“Ah yes, thank you so–”

Inaho’s mind slightly drifted as he realized the conversation was useless. He did, however, note how much Slaine kept thanking her and bowing.

“You are always overly grateful.” Inaho pointed out when the woman had left and they were back on their way.

“Of course! People are always being so kind to me, some of them are even my superiors.”

 _You aren’t like that towards me._ Inaho thought. He considered voicing that when something occurred to him.

What if Slaine putting up with him was his way of showing gratitude?

Seylum had saved his life, and Slaine had been devoted to her ever since. For small but constant favors, it could be in him to give his amity as thanks…

It was a much more sensible explanation as to why Slaine kept being around him then Asseylum’s belief in friendship.

_"I'd smile more if you weren't so annoying!"_

He had considered that to be a joke at the time...but maybe it hadn't...

He had probably just figured out the justification he had been missing…and it bothered him.

“Bat?”

Slaine turned to him in surprise, as so far they had only reverted back to the initial nicknames when things got heated or they meant to pick on the other.

“Yes?”

“Are you…” Inaho froze: did he really want the answer? He needed to think things through carefully. And then he noticed they had arrived in front of his room. “Good night.” he finished, and walked into his room without a glance back.

“...Sure, goodnight, Orange.” was heard on the other side of the door.

*

The sudden goodbye had taken Slaine aback. It had almost seemed like Inaho had been trying to get away quickly.

Dread began to settle in him but Slaine quickly shook it away.

_It's Inaho, maybe he was tired and just didn’t know how to properly say goodnight..._

Slaine went to sleep a little more troubled than in the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! especially the end :D
> 
>  
> 
> -joking aside, how sheltered Asseylum got martial arts training was always bizarre to me. Another weird thing was how she was so...prone to attacking people with it. Inaho I could understand, but later when she goes to deucalion's cockpit to activate it for the first time she tells the crew she means no harm...then throws a guy to the ground that was going to touch her. Huh, weird confrotational and offensive move for someone wanting peaceful talking...
> 
> -another thing is how martians are always squeaky clean when they live in space and from a palnet scarce on water. special martian concoctions and water reusage system is my explanation for now.


	8. Induratize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Induratize: _to harden one's heart_

Calm woke up in his usual manner. First his alarm clock rang. He partially ignored it. After a few minutes, a familiar insistent prodding came.

“I’m up, thanks man,” he said with words slurred from sleep.

Then something unexpected happened.

“Calm, are you awake enough to process a question?”

Normally, Inaho would nudge him awake and then leave. Wanting to ask something was unexpected enough that Calm was instantly more alert.

“What is it?”

“Is it possible to find someone annoying but still want to be their friend?”

“Huh?” _God, what was this about?_ “I guess? It depends on how annoying and how frequently annoying they are, probably.”

“…I see”

“See what? Wait, what’s going on?” Calm sat up but it was too late. Inaho was already gone.

*

By the time he finally got up and went down to breakfast, most were already finishing theirs.

“Calm, you seriously need to start waking up on time.” Inko chided.

He chose to ignore her, instead concentrating on the other side of the table, where Inaho, Slaine, Asseylum and her maid –he couldn’t really remember her name– were nearly finishing. The martian princess suddenly remembered something and took out a book.

“Here, Slaine, it’s a fairy tale book. The owner said they don’t want it anymore so please take it.”

“T-This is unnecessary, princess! Thank you! Why did you go to the trouble of finding me a book?” Slaine gushed, staring at the book in wonder.

“Inaho was worried about you having nothing to distract yourself with, so he asked me to find something for you.” she replied, beaming.

From where he was, Calm could clearly see Slaine freezing, looking troubled for a fraction of a second. _I guess he wanted Asseylum to have thought of it on her own…_

Slaine turned to Inaho, frowning. “You shouldn’t have made the princess do such a lowly thing for me!”

“Yeah!” the maid agreed.

“Slaine, he didn’t make me!”

“I didn’t force her to do it.”

“Morning, everyone! Oh, is it a bad time?” Yuki came in, and hesitated when she noticed their faces.

“Not really, Slaine is just aggravated over nothing. Again.” Inaho told her. Asseylum hastily tried to placate Slaine from yelling back.

“Well, you guys can continue another time. Slaine, Captain Magbaredge wants to see you to ask what you want to do, are you free?”

Slaine immediately turned from angry to slightly insecure. “Yes, of course! I’m ready to go.” He stood up and, next to him, Inaho tried doing the same, but Yuki pushed him down.

“No you don’t. She expressively stated you are not supposed to come.”

Clearly put out, Inaho grabbed Slaine by the wrist so he couldn’t move. “What are you choosing?”

“Whatever she feels needs done that I’m capable of doing.”

Inaho let go, but was clearly not satisfied. “That could be a large amount of tasks”

Slaine said nothing, because Yuki was already hurrying off, so he ran after her.

“Oh, seeing her reminded me of something!” Inko yelped, and then began shoveling down food.

“What’s with you?” Calm asked.

“There’s a simulator here, I was asked to try it out. Yuki is in charge so at least I won’t be late since she still has to take Slaine to Magbaredge first…”

 _A simulator? I don’t really need one since I don’t pilot a kat but…sounds cool_. “I’ve got some free time, I’ll go with you.”

In the rush to eat and go with Inko, he forgot to ask Inaho what the morning’s question had been about.

***

While Inko tried out the simulator, the cute redhead –Rayet– joined them. Calm tried talking to her but quickly noticed her focus was on Inaho, the maid and Asseylum, who had wondered by and were looking at the orange kat.

“The martians, huh?” he said, and she was suddenly paying attention to him. “They look exactly the same as us terrans. You'll never know unless someone told you. ” He sighed. “And screw Inaho. He knew who she was and didn’t tell us.”

Yuki smiled. “Well, I guess I should treat him like an adult now. I wish he’d talked to me about it, though. I should be the first one to know if he has someone he likes.”

“Huh?” For some reason he thought of Slaine.

“Come again?!” There was a yell from the tablet Yuki was holding. Inko’s face appeared, looking riled.

Yuki was unperturbed by the outburst. “Considering the times we live in, a martian won't be met with open arms, but in this case Nao will be marrying into some serious money!” she said gleefully.

_Ooh, she means Asseylum._

“Is that so? Is that what he’ll do?!” Inko yelled getting out of the simulator.

“It sure doesn’t look that way.” Calm replied, glancing at Inaho and Asseylum; he saw no reason to think he was in love with her. “He's his usual grumpy self. I haven't seen him smile once.” Not around her, at least.

“No, it’s completely different. I can tell because I’m his sister. I know when he’s happy and I know when he’s down. I know when he’s lying. That’s his I’m-in-cloud-nine face.”

“Oh riiiight,” he replied skeptically. Now Calm knew she was bullshiting; he wasn’t even smiling! What had Inaho smiling meant then, orgasms? And him laughing with Slaine then…

Slaine. Now that was interesting; if anything, Calm felt Inaho had been acting towards the new addition like a small kid that kept pulling his crush’s hair because he didn’t know how to deal with his feelings.

“I mean, how often do you see that cold fish listening to a girl so enthusiastically?” Yuki continued.

“Point taken!” _Then again…how often did girls happen to be princesses from another planet, with knowledge Inaho didn’t have? It would have been weird if Inaho hadn’t wanted to gleam more knowledge from her…_

“That's his ultimate expression of love.”

 _Then he's been married to his tablet for a while now. This is sounding ridiculous_. Besides, Calm knew all about being interested in girls and, as far as he knew, if Inaho had been listening to her because he was besotted, he’d be glancing at her face, tracing how her lips moved and all her expressions. Instead he was attentively looking at what she was pointing out.

_Looks to me just like someone earnest for more knowledge, regardless of who’s saying it._

_So how did Yuki come to such a bizarre conclusion about Asseylum?_

Calm thought he knew. Yuki was always trying to act like Inaho’s mother. And like one, she saw the best prospect around: a pretty, kind, rich and influential girl, and was twisting Inaho’s dealing with her to suit her own wishes for his future. It wouldn’t end well. Her mention of money just before only made him surer of this.

“Warrant Officer Kaizuka! Can I take a break?” Inko quickly excused herself, and in record speed left the simulator and rushed from the room. Confused, Calm followed her.

*

“Can you really tell when someone is lying?”

“Sure,” Yuki said, smiling at the red haired girl. “I can tell from looking at you that you’re lying too. A martian, and a princess too! I guess boys just love angling for the big fish. But don’t give up! You can still win. I like having a young brother that’s so popular with the girls!”

Rayet said nothing, going up. Yuki happily adjusted the settings. Her brother had Inko and Rayet after him, even if he was clearly deeply in love with the princess. He had a bright future ahead of him; the grandchildren would be gorgeous.

_I’m sorry Rayet and Inko won’t have their love requited though…I wonder who else must have a secret crush on Nao around here? Well, regardless of all the people that must secretly like her perfect little brother, his heart was taken._

For some reason, an image of Slaine came to her.

_Why Slaine? Oh that’s right, he’s in love with Asseylum. I hope he doesn’t take it too hard when he realizes it’s a lost battle._

She then had to halt her train of thought because Rayet started screaming.

***

To his displeasure, Inaho found himself being summoned by someone right when Asseylum had been about to start talking about their knowledge on the old civilization from Mars.

“Inaho, your orders are to leave training for now and go to your chosen kataphrakt. The repair crew is about to have a checkup and the higher ups want each pilot to hear what they have to say.” The messenger said.

Inaho nodded and walked to the room where the machines were kept. Getting there, he noticed three men observing his kataphrakt. One was Calm, the other was a veteran Inaho heard was called Tomoda and the third was–

Inaho momentarily halted when he realized the third was Slaine. He resumed walking, now with purpose.

“Why are you in the repair crew?” he demanded when he got near them. He assumed that was what it was, it was the only explanation.

“Ah yes, hello Inaho, my friend, good to see you too. Yes, we’re fine thanks for asking!” Calm said dramatically, then turned to the older man with them and made his usual ’see, told you Inaho was like that’ gesture.

The man chuckled and put a hand on Slaine’s shoulder. Interestingly enough, Slaine subtly stood up straighter and for one second looked uncomfortable, though Inaho doubted anyone but him noticed. He doesn’t mind people his age doing it, but older people make him uncomfortable.

“Slaine here said he’s used to piloting martian aircrafts, but we have no such thing aboard this place so he requested to be put with the repair crew.” Tomoda explained.

Inaho zeroed in on Slaine’s face, wondering if the boy would be able to figure out what the obvious next question would be. He did.

Shrugging –to subtly dislodge the hand on his shoulder– Slaine avoided Inaho’s intense gaze as he replied. “Well…hum…I’ve never worked with anything close to what you have here so I don’t think I’d be much use in the front lines and I know a little about repairs–”

“Ha! That’s an understatement!” Tomoda barked, and slapped Slaine’s shoulder. The blond jumped a little too much as a response. “We gave him some stuff to check as a test and after taking only a few minutes to learn stuff he managed to do it, he’s really good!”

“I didn’t say you weren’t,” Inaho continued talking only to Slaine. “there was no reason for me to think that. But you said you wanted to work in the frontlines.” Slaine opened his mouth to say something, but the brunet didn’t give him any time to interject. “Some people also didn’t know how to pilot, and they’re receiving training on it. If that’s what you want to do, you could take this time we’re not under attack to learn.”

“I…yes, but if there’s something I’m good at, I would rather be useful and do that.”

 _This again… I_ naho sensed it; like he was wading through murky waters. It wasn’t the first time he felt like this either.

_Having rights like taking a shower only if it was for the sake of someone else…being prone to being easily punished for any mistake or insubordination…of course they would also be the sort to demand he be always useful…I should have considered this before now._

No, not murky waters after all; more like he was seeing a small weed and as insignificant as it seemed, it was hard to pull, as if it only looked small on the surface, but buried in the ground was something large and heavy.

Lost in thought, he nearly missed Slaine adding in a small voice. “I considered requesting both but–”

“Whaaaat? Nah man, don’t do that to yourself!” Calm grabbed Slaine and shook him. “You’ll get double the work, you’ll die from exhaustion!”

“Ah, actually,” Calm’s ridiculous actions had somehow made Slaine smile again, “the martians were pretty strict, I’m used a lot more work than this, I think I could handle two different training regimes.”

There was a question on everyone’s lips, and it was Tomoda who voiced it first. “Boy…just what work did you do?”

Slaine sucked in a breath and began to list them–

Inaho didn’t mind work, and was fine with doing more of it than his peers. Yet he felt his hair rising on end as Slaine talked about what seemed like a list of all chores available. He had done everything. Teaching, cleaning, message boy, spare mechanic, soldier, and on and on the list went.

It could be that he didn’t do all of it on the same day but Inaho had the suspicion that most of it he did.

“Dude, just how many hours of sleep did you have?!” Calm asked, open mouthed.

“Ah…around four to five hours.”

_And that explains how he could have so easily woken up even earlier than I._

“Man, I could never survive with less than seven. I’d be like a walking zombie all day.”

If anything, Inaho at least appreciated that Calm’s antics –currently imitating a zombie– were at least distracting Slaine and getting him to chuckle. Still, he needed to interrupt it.

“If you are used to so much, I doubt doing both repairs and pilot training will be problematic. You can request it and explain the situation and they might consider allowing it.” He was going to continue, and say he could go talk to the people in charge with him and then make a timetable that would make the two possible. He could already imagine Slaine acting all grateful again–

A sudden thought crossed his mind and he froze.

_This is my chance to ascertain if he really is just around me due to gratefulness._

He quickly changed what he had been about to say. “I’m sure Mr. Tomoda can help you speak to those in charge of that,” he glanced at the man, who loudly assured them he’d do it of course, “and then you‘ll just need to devise a schedule that makes doing both possible. It shouldn’t be too hard.” He shrugged.

For an instance he noticed a look of surprise pass Slaine’s face. That was predictable; it was the first time since he had arrived that Inaho hadn’t immediately suggested helping him to speed things up.

“Right…good idea. Thank you for volunteering to help, Mr. Tomoda.” Slaine’s voice had an odd sound to it now, but that was also to be expected; if he was awkward around adults, the prospect of depending on Tomoda wouldn’t be too pleasant. Inaho felt a tinge of guilt that he was throwing Slaine into a situation he was not comfortable with, but it had to be done.

The checkup finally began and ran smoothly, though the atmosphere was strange. Calm had tried glaring at him a few times when his superior wasn’t looking, and when Inaho just blankly stared back uncomprehending, he would point to Slaine with head and shake it in disappointment. The blond, meanwhile, was more subdued than usual, though Inaho assumed that was due to him concentrating.

In the end, his kat turned out to have some heavy damage to it, but he didn’t get berated, as it had been done when fighting a stronger martian technology while saving them.

“Well, I suppose given what you had to deal with this isn’t too bad.” Tomoda concluded. “But still, try to be less reckless next time.”

 _Reckless, me?_ Inaho was offended.

It must have shown on his face, because Calm took one look and burst out laughing.

Slaine looked and his lips twitched as if trying to stop smiling. “Well, you did decide to hitch a ride on my sky carrier even though you all thought I was a martian.”

“That wasn’t reckless. You were clearly against our enemy and helping us. It was the best option for surviving the attacks. Furthermore, if you ever turned on me I would shoot you. And I did, in the end.”

“True. I guess you’re the type to push anything bothersome away without hesitation. That’s good I guess.” Slaine said.

Inaho felt his words were peculiar, as if this wasn’t only about that shooting, but he couldn’t think of what else he meant. Besides, they were not untrue; the brunet was not usually the sort to let inconvenient things hang around him out of sentiment.

Goodbyes were said, and while Calm and Tomoda simply turned their backs and walked away, Slaine lingered.

“I just…” he said hesitatingly, “I wanted thank you for all you’ve done so far and I’m sorry. Goodbye.” He turned and rushed to catch up to the others before Inaho could inquire on what he was apologizing for this time.

Inaho watched them leave and hoped Tomoda would be at least competent enough to help Slaine get such a simple thing.

It would have been more effective if he had simply continued to help him, maybe.

Though as loath as he was to admit it even to himself, while logically he could see how Slaine getting used to other people would be beneficial for the blond, Inaho had done so more due to his own selfishness. Now having realized his constant helping the older boy was probably the reason why Slaine had been so willing to stick around him constantly, he had needed to do something to verify and, if proven true, end this.

Not that Inaho believed Slaine to be the sort to hang around people for convenience to him. No, the blond didn’t have that cold calculating streak in him. But he was extremely grateful for help given; it could be he wanted to thank Inaho by keeping him company all this time.

This explanation made so much more sense than the girls’; it’d been surprising it hadn’t occurred to him until so late last night. Inaho was well aware most did not like his personality. Not that he minded; the feeling was usually mutual. There was a reason he had few friends…

Slaine was his opposite; he could hold conversations with people he barely met and managed to be instantly liked by all. The very fact they had managed to talk so much might be just that the other boy was good at such things, and not that they fit, as Inaho had initially presumed.

Unusual as this was, it bothered him greatly to think superior social skills were the reason Slaine seemed to work so well with him, and the blond might have just put up with him out of some sort of obligation.

The best way to confirm this was to just call him out on it, yet instead Inaho hesitated and chose a less direct path; sending him off to be helped by others. If he was correct –and why wouldn’t he be? – Slaine’s desire to repay him would lessen now and he’d no longer seek him out.

The thought of Slaine doing the natural thing and leaving made him feel…not good.

Inaho sighed. He was deficient when it came to emotions, but even he could figure out the girls had at least been half correct intheir belief: somehow Inaho had grown attached to Slaine, and had even began considered him a friend.

_This is why I should never do as my feelings tell me. I should have cut my ties with him before it would have upset me to do so._

***

He should have known. He should have expected it.

The abrupt exit last night, and then finding out he handed Asseylum a task…they had been warning signs Inaho had been slowly but surely trying to get rid of his presence, and he had immediately taken the first chance he had to pawn Slaine off to someone else.

Pawn him…the martians had done the same; trying to pass him along after his father’s death and it only stopped when Asseylum got Cruhteo to stick with him.

Not three days and he had ruined it with Inaho too. Maybe the martians hadn’t been that wrong when they accused him of being unclean.

_And speaking of unclean…_

He looked at his bare hands and felt a desperate urge to put his gloves back on.

***

Still perturbed by the memories of death triggered by the simulator, Rayet had decided a long cold shower might help clear her head.

Walking to her destination, she soon turned a corridor and found Slaine walking towards her, but without seeing her, an obviously dejected look on his face and wringing his hands.

“Damn boy you look pathetic, did Inaho kick you or something?” she let out as they were passing each other. It might have been callous to mock his obvious misery over something, but she was beyond caring at this point.

“What? W-Who said Inaho has anything to do with me?”

Rayet had simply mentioned the brunet because he was conspicuously absent, but Slaine’s reaction made it clear she had hit the mark.

“Call it an educated guess. So, what did he do?”

Still looking like a kicked puppy, Slaine sighed. “He didn’t do anything. In a way, I did. But it’s nothing. Inaho was tasked with helping me and I suppose I was too inconvenient and was finally pushed away. It was only natural.”

Being put aside due to being inconvenient was too close to Rayet’s own situation with the martians. And on top of that, Slaine had also lived several years with people not of his kind…

“You and I are quite similar, aren’t we?”

“What?”

“I’m not…Japanese. My father and others came to this country for a job and after years living here he was discarded as soon as he completed his task and would reap his reward.” She spat, expression twisting. She balled her fists–

A hesitant hand lightly touched her arm. She looked to find pity –no, sympathy– in Slaine’s gaze, and his dejectedness lessened as he concentrated on Rayet. “I’m sorry to hear that. Though I think my situation is different than your father’s. I’m not being unjustly cast off as he was; Inaho has every right to be tired of needing to be around me. But as for having to live with people you feel aren’t your own…” he sighed. “I know quite well how that feels. “

Rayet didn’t know how to respond, anger abating when confronted with Slaine’s empathy and caring.

She was spared the need to say anything by the sudden halt of the Deucalion. Her balance was good enough that she didn’t fall over and, she noted, so was Slaine’s.

“Attention, crew,” a voice said over the intercom, “we are temporarily landing the Deucalion. Proceed as you were. Leaving it is prohibited and disobedience will be met with strict punishment. Slaine, you are summoned to the control room, come immediately.”

Judging by the blonde’s bewildered expression, he had no clue as to why he was needed.

“Well, I guess I’m going then. But…it would be nice if we talked again.”

Rayet blinked in surprise. _Seriously?!_ “I…well…I don’t care, but I guess you aren’t the worst around here. If we meet again after you are done with whatever they want from you, I suppose I can waste some time talking to you.”

Slaine actually thanked her and ran off.

As she stared at the way he had gone, she heard two people coming closer and talking.

“I wonder what happened, and why they only summoned Slaine. Maybe they found out he has some great skill to help them? Maybe I should go see what they want too…”

“Your Highness, they didn’t call you, so I think you should have the bath you were so looking forward to before!”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right Eddelrittuo. Let’s freshen up before I go talk to them.”

They passed Rayet.

With a sour expression, the ginger decided to forgo her shower; with the way she currently was, hearing that martian princess’ naïveté would only make her want to wring her sheltered little neck.

 ***

Inaho was extremely annoyed.

The others had simply gone about their tasks, honestly believing that if no one said the word “emergency” they certainly there mustn’t be one.

The sudden landing was clearly sign of something going on.  And then there was the fact they called Slaine and only Slaine…

Inaho paced around the corridors, trying to find something wrong somewhere, while frustrated they had refused to let him enter the control room.

Finally, he felt them once again moving up, and walked back towards the control room to demand answers.

On the way was Marito, lounging on a doorway.

“Took you long enough to pass through here boy,” he said.

“I have things to do, I can’t stop to talk now,” Inaho curtly replied. He passed by his superior…

“Ah, really? Pity then, because I so wanted to chat about what just happened with that bat of yours…”

Marito watched in glee as Inaho stopped in his tracks.

“His name is Slaine,” he said, turning around. Marito snorted.

“Oho, touchy about your private nickname, eh?”

“It’s hardly private if even you heard it. I was just telling you his name in case you didn’t know it yet,” Inaho replied. He kept quiet that another reason for the correction was that Marito had made ‘bat’ sound like a mockery, and it bothered him.

“Ouch, good burn there, kid. Alright I’ll talk, though you guys will hear what happened soon enough since there’s been a change of plans. Basically our radars caught enemy aircrafts somewhere, and we landed to avoid being caught by their sensors before we could figure out a plan. And then it was decided we would take another, much longer route to our destination to avoid encounters.”

“So Slaine was needed to check if he could identify what the aircraft was and maybe see if he had some knowledge on where others might be?”

“Your intelligence is always impressive. Yes, that’s exactly why, and he was very helpful in that. However, that’s not why I wanted us to have this private chat.” And now Marito’s expression sobered. He stepped away from the door and opened it, gesturing Inaho inside.

The boy raised an eyebrow, Marito did not find it amusing.

“We can talk in the corridor, but I don’t think what I’m about to say is something I doubt B– Slaine would like being spread around.”

The room turned out to be a storage one. Each sat on containers opposite each other. Marito sighed –wishing for a drink– and began. “I’m not the best at anything, and I’m sure I’m bad at most things, and my own issues sure aren’t helping me get any more useful. That said, if there’s anything my past has made me good at, it’s identifying someone also fucked up and traumatized when I see one. And that boy has it bad, really bad.”

“…what happened?” Inaho’s voice came out more rushed than usual.

“…I don’t know much about how those things work, but basically they managed to come up with some info on whatever they were picking up and Slaine somehow knew the thing belonged to the Count he was serving under before defecting…”

*

_Initially Slaine had been uncomprehending, voicing his confusion on there being something like that so out of the planned areas. And then it dawned on him._

_“Me. He...Count Cruhteo.... must have changed the areas to search for me. It’s my fault that’s there,” he had said in a horrified whisper. “I…I am so sorry, I…”_

_He had paled a little but didn’t tremble. Instead his body became rigid and frozen and eyes downcast. Most people wouldn’t notice past the paler demeanor, but Marito recognized someone focused on something bad in his past._

_Magbaredge, maybe realizing there was more wrong than it seemed, reached out in a rare attempt at comfort._

_Because he had been looking for it, Marito saw how Slaine’s expression subtly changed from apologetic to one of jaded resignation._

*

“Inaho, whatever they did to him when he failed or made a mistake…it was bad, really bad. No one, especially not a boy usually so collected, gets like that easily.”

“How did you get him away from that state?”

Marito examined his face. Trying to decipher what Inaho was feeling by looking at his expression was harder than looking for a needle in a haystack. He didn’t seem surprised, but Marito couldn’t tell if his inquiry was out of simple cold curiosity or actual worry.

“Why do you assume we got him out of it? Wait, no, never mind. I’m sure you have more than one sound reason for it. It was easy actually…”

*

_Seeing that physical contact would not help any, Magbaredge glanced around feeling out of her depth, and unintentionally made eye contact with Marito, who mouthed ‘tell him it’s not his fault’._

_She placed her hands slowly on the table. “Slaine,” she tried, voice a little softer, “Slaine, if you hadn’t come to us we would most certainly be dead. Femmianne would have killed Inaho, Inko and Yuki and then gone after us before we had time to board and activate the Deucalion. Having to be wary of some more martians after you is a very small price to pay for all our lives.”_

_It worked; Slaine seemed less stone cold, but still his had bowed in shame. “I apologize for reacting so strongly…”_

_“It’s not a problem. Now, let’s get to the matter at hand. What can you tell us regarding this…”_

*

“After that he was fine like nothing had even happened.”

“…why have you told me this?”

“Well, the first reason is that even if you deny it, I know you care about him–”

“Why would I deny it? I do.”

“Now, now Inaho don’t lie–what? Aren’t you going to disagree?”

Inaho was showing small but visible signs of exasperation now. “I fail to see your point. You speak as if I have no feelings. The fact that I do not express them as openly, nor dwell or base all my actions around them, does not erase the fact that I do. I have friends, after all. Slaine has been someone agreeable enough that I enjoy his company and would not like if something were to happen to him. And he’s hardly the only person I feel this way towards.”

_Oh? Boy…I never said you cared about him more than usual. Who are you arguing with there?_

“Fine, alright!” he said instead, hands up in mock defeat. “I’m sorry then. Okay, so you care, even if not as you would a friend, right?”

“Yes.”

*

His own answer surprised Inaho; just earlier he had been reflecting over how it would the loss of his companionship would bother him as he had begun to regard him as close as a friend. Yet saying Slaine wasn't his friend didn’t feel incorrect either; perhaps because Slaine didn’t hold him in the same regard. Yes, that seemed logical.

*

Marito, meanwhile, hadn’t noticed Inaho's conflict, too lost in his own musings.

_No arguments there, you don’t go out of your way to help your friends like you do for him, and you certainly don’t try to rile them up either. Hum…it’s going to be fun to see what this ‘not friendship’ turns into after a while…_

“Well, so this is why: you care and you’re the one who spent more time with him–”

“That would be Seylum.”

“…Inaho, the princess is a very good and empathetic girl that suffered at the thought of random, unknown people being hurt because she nearly died. Do you really think if she knew about…whatever was going on with Slaine she wouldn’t have done anything? Or at least been more attentive to him since he arrived?”  

It was rare to see Inaho’s eyes widening. _So this smart guy hadn’t realized it yet._

“So, I highly doubt the princess has a clue about what went on. And even if she did, you are still sharper. I felt you were the better choice to talk to. Now, do you think he’ll accept professional help?”

Inaho clearly considered it carefully before replying. “…No. he has been too reserved. Either he hasn’t realized he needs it, or thinks it’s unnecessary.”

“Or he feels it would be a personal failure to even need help.” That had been Marito’s own reason, at least.

“Yes, that might also be it, along with a dislike of bothering others…” Inaho mused, almost to himself.

“Right. Well, if he doesn’t want help yet, someone needs to keep an eye on him anyway, for his own sake. I think you’re willing to be that person?”

The brunet began nodding, and then stopped. “I believe it’s probable that he won’t be hanging around me much longer. It’ll be hard for me take care of this…” his voiced almost had some emotion in it.

_Huh, did they have a falling out? “Whatever it is, since you know the people he hangs out more than I do, I’m sure you’ll think of some alternative to help him if you can’t.”_

“…I’ll research this carefully before attempting to do anything but yes, I’ll certainly see to it something is done, sooner or later. Thank you for telling me.”

“No problem. I just want him to get help before long.” _Before he grows into me._

***

He still felt bad about his episode with Captain Magbaredge, and his situation with Inaho certainly didn’t make it any better.

He should apologize to the young pilot, he knew, yet he couldn’t.

So instead he dedicated the whole afternoon to repairs, burying himself with work to keep his mind off how horrible this day had turned out.

Lunch time came, and he found he still could not confront Inaho. But avoiding him shouldn’t be difficult; he knew Inaho ate as early as possible, so he just waited until the very last minute to eat.

He ended up having lunch with Rayet. They didn’t talk much, and Slaine vowed to not overstep his place again.

***

Inaho noticed the complete absence of Slaine at lunch time. Slaine was well aware of the time he ate, so his nonappearance could be a sign Slaine had purposely refused to go with him. Or he was simply busy with work.

There was only one way to find out. Come dinner time, Inaho decided to change his schedule…

***

 _Why is he still here?!_ Slaine panicked inwardly. Inaho wasn’t supposed to be in the mess hall; he should have finished and have been long gone by now.

Holding his tray, Slaine hesitated; Inaho was sitting alone…

_So? He doesn’t want your presence, does he?_

Heart heavy, Slaine walked to one of the many empty benches.

At one point, he couldn’t help glancing at Inaho.

Their eyes met. He gulped.

“Inaho,” he greeted, managing to keep his voice steady.

“…Slaine.”

Had Inaho always sounded that cold with him, and he simply hadn’t realized? How stupid had he been?

He sat down and quickly began shoveling down the food; the faster he got out of there the better.

*

_That settles it. I was right, as always. He’d rather sit alone than sit with me; now there’s no more reason to feel thankful for my presence._

His accuracy had a bitter taste.

*

Asseylum had been searching for Inaho; because she couldn’t find Slaine and she was sure if anyone could find him, Inaho could.

She was told he was, surprisingly, eating dinner rather late, so she went to the mess hall.

She saw him as she walked inside, and noticed Slaine just grabbing his own dinner…

The princess froze when she saw Slaine blatantly pick a seat as far away as possible from Inaho.

He hadn’t looked angry…so what had Inaho done?

*

“What did you do?” Asseylum asked after rushing inside, grabbing him and dragging him out. It was strange, seeing her sounding so cross, so far Inaho had never seen her anywhere near angry.

“…Why do you assume I did something? Slaine is rubbing off on you.”

“I consider that a compliment, you know. And Slaine is the reason. I saw him choose his seat.”

“…Is that so?” Asseylum looked surprised at how chilly his tone was, he couldn’t blame her; he was too. “Good, that will make this easier for you to acknowledge then; Slaine didn’t want to be my friend after all.”

She frowned, taken aback. “What? That makes no sense, what makes you think so?”

“The situation you just witnessed should be proof enough.”

She pouted. “Not really, it just looks like you had a fight. What did you do?”

“I simply gave him his freedom of me, which he immediately took, as I have just confirmed. It seems you remain unconvinced. Very well; time will do so for you. Now excuse me, I think I should go rest for today. Goodnight.”

***

Asseylum watched him leave in stupefaction; Inaho had always been quite expressionless and toneless, but he had just sounded…downright cold and shut off.

She looked back to where Slaine was eating and sighed; she doubted he’d wield to questioning, he’d always been secretive with her, but she'd try to go and ask him anyway.

And if he didn’t explain things…well, she wouldn’t rest until someone did and this situation was fixed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Yuki's words to Calm and Rayet: are all canon. For those that have already forgotten, she does tell Calm Inaho (while not even looking at asseylum) must be in cloud nine because he pays attention. Most of her words in that part i took straight from subs. She canonly mentions about him marrying into money, and /then/ tells rayet she knows she likes inaho and how he's a stud. I...can't even. The fact that she also said it about rayet i guess implied she had no real idea of what she was seeing, as the episode made it clear rayet's secret was that she was a martian. Still, that whole conversation was overly ridiculous, and well, i put my thoughts into Calm.
> 
> -Rayet deciding not to shower: had slaine not slowed her down, she'd have been showering when asseylum came in...which would have led to her strangling her. So i guess no princess near detah experience? weeeeeell.....
> 
> -The change of direction by the Deucalion: we are never told just how much tiem passes before they reach the russian base, but i think it wasnt much. Given Cruhteo is now depserately looking for him, he altered his usual routes, which will now lead to the Deucalion taking longer on its jorney, meaning more time for slaine and inaho to interact.
> 
> -I realize that when you all said you wanted anothe rmarito pov, this isnt what you meant. dont worry, *that* sort of joke will come again...
> 
> -for those who read both my fics: the...similarities between plot points in both chapters this week (rayet, yuki, misunderstandings) is really justa coincidence as i really dont have the time to try and make both fic chapters mirror each other lol
> 
> -the biggest question for next chapter is: will asseylum actually help???


	9. Denouement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Denouement : _the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences._

Despite being told the training grounds were free to use, Slaine decided to still run laps on the outside deck.

A small thought told him he was only exposing himself to a cold and becoming totally useless, but he decided to risk it; this way, he would minimize his chances of bumping into Inaho.

As Slaine did another lap, he had the distinct feeling of being watched. He turned towards the door, but there was no one there.

*

_So now he doesn’t even bother to heed my suggestions?_

Seeing Slaine yet again exercising in the outside perturbed Inaho. He had considered reminding Slaine it could be detrimental to his health…but he had said that already and Slaine clearly didn’t care about Inaho’s suggestions now that he didn’t have to. Inaho would have to tell Seylum to tell him to cut it out.

_Or maybe he is traumatized by training with other people?_

It might be that too; Inaho had started researching Slaine’s actions and all indicated trauma due to abuse.

He half considered going back to helping Slaine with everything so the blond would come back to his side; knowing it was false would hurt but at least he’d manage to take care of him more…

_But first, I need to learn more on this…_

_***_

Calm’s day had barely begun and already it looked great. He had just woken up and left his room to find three girls outside his door, one of which was the cute martian princess.

And then he remembered this was reality, not his dreams. He sighed. “Ladies, if you’re waiting for Inaho, he’s already gone.”

Nina actually sighed in relief. “Good, we don’t want him to hear this, we were waiting for you.”

It was too good to be true, so he became suspicious. “…what is this about?”

Inko tugged at his sleeve, “Asseylum asked for our help. It’s about Inaho and Slaine.”

 _Of course it is. Wait._ “Is this about Inaho getting out of having to help Slaine?”

There was a pause.

“What?!”

“ _You_ know what this is about?”

He sniffed to make sure they knew he was offended. “I don’t like your tone. Maybe I won’t tell you what I know.”

Asseylum surged forward, pleading, “Oh, _please_ tell us. I tried asking both of them last night but they refused to tell me.”

 _Shit, how could I refuse such a cute face?_ “I was kidding! Of course I’ll tell you what I saw…”

***

Inko groaned, fighting the urge to band her head on the nearest surface. “No wonder they got along so well; _they’re both idiots_.”

The martian princess simply smiled. “Well, if this is all a misunderstanding at least it will be easy to fix. They’ll be friends again in no time!”

The short haired girl looked at her; it was really impossible to dislike her, even if Yuki turned out to be true about Inaho’s feelings for her. Still, she was feeling angry about it, and there was no way to let it out…

It was probably why her next words were, “Let’s play a prank on them.”

Calm grinned and gave Inko a thumbs up, “I don’t know what it is, but I like it already.”

Nina frowned. “Inko?”

“Look, they need to learn a lesson so they don’t end up in such a ridiculous situation again. We’ll help the fix things…but not _too_ kindly.”

Asseylum hesitated, but then giggled. “Well, so long as it isn’t anything harmful I think I agree to it.”

“Good, because we’ll need your help to get Slaine to go with it. First, we’ll go to each of them and say…”

***

“A ghost?” Inaho raised an eyebrow. “You should talk to Calm and ask him about the ghost he thought existed.”

“I know about that!” Inko insisted. “But this one is different. People have seen shadows and heard voices so we want to check it out.”

“Ask Slaine, or Seylum.”

Nina stepped in. “We have time off, so we wanted to make a game out of it. Do you even have anything better to do?”

He had abuse research to do, but he wasn’t about to reveal that. Reluctantly, Inaho agreed. “Fine, but let’s end this quickly. It’s most likely just aldnoah again.”

*

“Even if it is just aldnoah, we still should check it out since we’re the ones who most know about it.”

Slaine didn’t hesitate; he had nothing better to do, and it was a request from the princess after all.

***

Inaho narrowed his eyes at the sight of Asseylum and Slaine joining them. Inko hadn’t mentioned them coming at all.

It was too suspicious. “You didn’t inform me of this.”

Inko shrugged. “I didn’t think it mattered.” She replied nonchalantly. Or at least tried too, she was a very bad liar.  

Inaho said nothing more; whatever they were planning or expecting, at least it gave him an excuse to be near Slaine without said boy being able to leave.

The blond was looking very downcast right now…

*

Slaine’s mood plummeted when he noticed Inaho among their group.

_Of course he’d also be going, why did I expect otherwise?_

And when Inaho saw him…he visibly narrowed his eyes and turned to Inko to complain he hadn’t known Slaine would be there.

_I hadn’t realized he couldn’t stand being around me at this point._

They began walking, Asseylum moving to stand with Inko and Nina and talk to them. Slaine made sure to stick to the rear to give Inaho as much space as possible.

Surprisingly, after a short while Inaho fell back until he was walking side by side with Slaine.

“You’re wearing gloves again. You’ve been wearing them since last night.”

_Oh, of course; his curiosity got the better of him._

“Yes, I decided to put them on again.”

“Why?”

 _So my hands can’t ruin anything else._ “No reason.”

Inaho stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to gauge the truth. “…you were running outside again. Why?”

 _Was he the one I felt watching me_? “I prefer the outside air.”

“You will end up bedridden if you keep this up.”

 _Please don’t make it sound like you care._ “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure not to not exaggerate so I can continue to contribute.”

Hearing him, Inaho visibly stiffened and turned sharply to him, voice more urgent. “I hadn’t meant to–”

“Hey, we’re here!” Calm cut him off, and pointed to a darkened room. “Okay, you two,” he said, turning to Inaho and Slaine, “get in there and tell us what you think.”

Asseylum was watching, so Slaine obligingly moved to enter first along with Inaho. “Isn’t there a light switch?” he asked.

“You don’t need it. Just go a little more forward.”

Eyes adjusting to the darkness, Slaine thought he could make out something ahead.  

Inaho, right in front of him, seemed to reach out and touched what might have been a door. “Is this a–”

Things happened so fast that at the exact moment Slaine didn’t realize what was going on.

He was pushed, violently, by more than one person and the force had him hurtling into Inaho, who fell forward into what must have been a wall, as something was holding him from falling.

Before Slaine could even disentangle himself from the brunet and back away, he was pushed again and metal closed around his back. He heard a metallic click.

It didn’t take much to figure out what had just happened: he’d been shoved into a closet –judging by the size– and its door had just been shut.

He had no space to move, to the point both his shoulders were touching walls, and so was his back. Even so, he tried pressing into it in case it opened; and to try and get space between him and Inaho.

With most of Slaine’s weight no longer pinning him, the brunet began shifting to turn around. With a grunt he managed to do so; their torso’s touching and now Slaine could feel the breath he was exhaling.

“It’s useless to try and open it, this one doesn’t open from the inside.” Calm said from the other side.

“Princess Asseylum?” Slaine called out. “What’s going on?”

“We decided you guys need some time alone together to talk. And as punishment for your idiocy since yesterday, we’re leaving you in this closet for now.” Inko’s voice explained, sounding gleeful, “I’ll come back to free you two in an hour. And I took your tablet, Inaho. Since you two have nothing better to do, go talk and fix things.”

“This is ludicrous,” Inaho said in the darkness, and Slaine agreed.

“Whatever, we’re still doing it,” Calm’s voice came, now from further away. “Bye!”

Slaine heard their footsteps leaving and cursed out loud.

“My sentiments exactly,” Inaho replied.

Slaine was now becoming aware of hands lightly touching his arms, and then holding his waist…

“Huh…Inaho?”

The brunet ignored him…and then used his hands to push Slaine into him again.

“W-what are you doing?” he squeaked, body fully pressed against Inaho now, and the blond needing to shift sideways, leaving Inaho’s head resting against his shoulder, so their heads didn’t bump. He tried to move back again–

“Don’t. Remain like that a moment, I want to check the lock,” Inaho replied simply; and indeed Slaine could feel his hands on his back; trying to examine the lock in the small amount distance there now was between it and Slaine. But even with their bodies flushed against each other, the space created was practically nothing.

“This is quite…” he said, embarrassed about it all. He tried shifting to make it more comfortable and, to his horror, accidently ended up planting a leg between Inaho’s own.

“S-sorry!”

“Hm, it’s more comfortable like that actually.”

“Are you sure?” Mortified, Slaine tried moving to find another position…

A weird sound came from Inaho’s throat. “Actually…please don’t. Either remove your leg or keep absolutely still.”

“Huh, why?”

“…when you try moving, your upper leg rubs against a part very sensitive to stimuli.”

_A part sensitive to– let’s see, on my upper leg I’m touching his–_

_Oh god!_

He didn’t care that he squished Inaho’s hands behind him; he pushed himself into the wall and hastily withdrew the leg that had been consistently touching Inaho in the groin.

“I thought you weren’t interested in boys!” Slaine hissed.

“That has nothing to do with it. People can get erections even if they aren’t attracted to a person so long as correct incentive is applied. Although so far I have yet to find what mine are.”

“Oh, so there isn’t a chance of you…uhm…”

“Getting an erection?” Slaine flinched at his bluntness. “Well, I doubt most people would get one when you barely did anything and for less than a minute. Furthermore, I haven’t been able to get one or masturbate to Calm’s porn, and certainly not through using my hand. But I haven’t tested actual physical contact with someone else and I feel like our current predicament isn’t a good time to risk finding out.”

_I am locked in a dark closet with Inaho talking about getting off like he was reading a dictionary. Help me._

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You know you’re bisexual so I’m guessing there’s a high chance you’ve done that while thinking of someone? Or with someone?”

_Kill me._

_“I’m not discussing that with you!_ A-anyway, is the door really locked?” _Please agree to change the subject._

“Yes. There’s a key hole behind you. Do you have something thin and metallic I could attempt to open it with? Though I feel like they said the truth when they told us the door won’t open from inside.”

“Sorry, no.” He sighed. “What was the princess thinking?”

“She wasn’t. Clearly, none of them were. This is thoughtless, irrational, exceedingly stupid and risky,” Inaho retorted, voice noticeably annoyed. “I doubt they bothered to ensure this closet was safe for use; they probably just shoved us in the first enclosed space they knew we couldn’t open from the inside. The fact that this isn’t airtight is sheer luck, I’m sure. As for the size; this is smaller than it should be for this prank to be benign.” He paused, and his voice changed strangely. “Are you ok with this?”

“…what could _possibly_ make you assume I might be fine with this?”

“I meant…” Inaho’s words were hesitant. “Does this induce panic in you? Due to a fear of darkness, enclosed spaces…maybe a flashback to some traumatic solitary confinement?”

“Even solitary confinement was more comfortable,” Slaine blurted out. He immediately regretted it.

“So you _have_ been in solitary confinement?” Inaho’s voice was sharp now.

“Huh…I guess. But it wasn’t dark and I could sit and it was, you know, solitary as in, without someone there with me.”

“So this doesn’t induce anxiety in you in any way? Does my current proximity frighten you?”

“…why do you sound like you’re ticking off a list?”

“I am.”

“…What?”

“I am mentally envisioning all the issues you might have and inquiring so as to ascertain if things will become problematic; and with that knowledge figure out a way to avoid you going into a panic or anxiety state or even hysteria.”

“...You really _do_ think low of me.”

“Why? Responding badly to a situation due to trauma or a mental issue isn’t a sign of weakness.”

“Really? Oh...well…even so, no, I won’t start going into any of that.”

“You sound very certain.”

“It’s none of your business.” he couldn’t help snapping at him.

“Slaine.”

“Drop it.”

“Bat–”

“What about you? Maybe _you_ might start having something!”

“I won’t.”

“Now look who’s sounding certain.”

“…point taken. I’m certain because I’ve been locked in a closet before.”

“…so this is a common occurrence between you and your friends?”

“Not my friends. Some kids in the orphanage Yuki and I used to live in.”

“…oh. I’m sorry”

“You weren’t there, no reason to apologize.”

“No, I’m sorry to have pried.”

“It’s fair, I was doing the same.”

“Well, speaking of the same, I’ve been locked in a closet too. Once, by some martians.” He tried to make light of it, “Solitary confinement was better.”

Unsurprisingly, Inaho didn’t laugh. “I see. I need to write this down when I get my tablet back.”

_Write this– is he keeping tabs on how martians acted?_

Inaho didn't elaborate any further, and they quickly fell into a silence. The quietness made Slaine more aware of the other’s breath ghosting his chin and neck.

It also calmed him down, which made him start thinking about why they were shoved into this and how Inaho must feel…

“I’m so sorry,” he said softly, almost whispering.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I think it’s my fault we’re in this situation.”

“…go on.”

“You’re going to hate me even more after this.”

“…your words imply you assume I hate you.”

“Fine, you dislike me then.”

“…that’s still incorrect. Tell me why you think this is your fault.”

 _Incorrect?_ “Princess Asseylum asked me yesterday if you had done something to me. I think…I think they assume we’re fighting.”

*

_He thinks I don’t like him, something is wrong here…_

“Why do they assume we’re fighting?” Inaho knew the answer, but he needed to hear Slaine’s take on it.

The blond hesitated, and in the quiet and nearness, the younger boy could hear him swallow thickly. “Isn’t it obvious? They mistook your kindness for friendship so now that you aren’t troubling yourself with me anymore they misunderstood.”

Inaho could feel the blood leaving his face as he began to understand. “Slaine–”

Slaine wasn’t through yet, however. “And…I’m sorry too. I think I overstepped my welcome because I also misunderstood.”

Slaine…who was always desperate to be of use. Who thought his worth was measured in that alone. Who assumed any slight meant punishment…

That he’d take Inaho handing over the responsibility to help him the wrong way was expected. And Inaho hadn’t taken that into account.

True, he hadn’t been aware of how much of an issue this was for Slaine when he’d done it…but he should have thought of it after his talk with Marito.

_What have I done?_

He grabbed Slaine’s arm fiercely, hoping that would betray the emotions Inaho knew his voice wouldn’t manage to convey.

“You’re wrong, you are entirely mistaken. I–”

He stopped, realizing Slaine’s breathing was a little too labored, and he was too warm. Inaho let go of one of the blond’s arm and placed his hand on his neck.

“Your hands are cold,” Slaine stated, sounding less like a complaint and more like relief, which was probable.

“You are too warm. And sweating. You might be used to this stale air and confinement, but you aren’t used to this kind of heat, are you?”

“It’s not so bad…”

“This isn’t some form of extreme conditions training where you prepared yourself for it beforehand, and we have almost an hour left before they let us leave. Remove your clothing.”

“W-what?”

 _Maybe the heat is already affecting his brain._ Without waiting for him to act, Inaho moved his hands to where he assumed Slaine’s collar was and began trying to open his shirt.

“Hey! You don’t need to do that I can remove them mys–”

Just then, the closet’s door opened, and Slaine and Inaho fell through.

***

Marito furtively walked around the corridors, making sure no one was around, as he doubted he’d be allowed to have a drink in peace.

Luckily he had found an empty room away from any activity where he could stay…

He entered it and immediately realized something was wrong; noises were coming from a closet.

He walked towards it, the noises too muffled to make out the words.

Once near it he finally managed to hear them clearly.

“Remove your clothes.”

“W-what?”

_I don’t fucking believe this…_

“Hey! You don’t need to do that I can remove them mys–”

Marito put his hand on the handle and pried the door open.

Inaho and Slaine fell to the floor.

Marito stared at them as they, on the ground, looked up at him in return.

Inaho was on top of Slaine; his hands had been trying to open his shirt.

_Looks like the closet porn will also have to go._

***

“Please calm down.”

“B-but–”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” Now sitting down opposite the boys, Marito took a long gulp of his drink; if that was the shit he’d see when still sober, he wanted to get drunk, and quickly. “You’re young. Hormones got the–”

“N-no!” The emotional blond practically wailed. “It’s not that at all! We were locked inside–”

“The door opened as soon as I pulled.”

“It’s a special door that doesn’t open from the inside!”

“Riiiight.”

“You could enter to test it out,” Inaho suggested, composed as always despite what Marito had caught him doing. Or trying to do.

“So you can lock me in there for having caught your act? I don’t think so.”

“We wouldn’t do that to you! Please, I know what it looks like, but it’s really not that!” Slaine nudged Inaho. “Help me here!”

“He even kneaded my lower region and I didn’t get an erection...although that could be because there wasn’t enough time–”

_“You’re making it worse!”_

Marito tried to scrub away the image of the pretty blond boy trying to pleasure Inaho by downing half the bottle.

“Let me humor you then,” he said, feeling his head getting blessedly fuzzy. “How do you explain Inaho trying to take your clothes off?”

“He was too hot to keep them on.”

 _“You are doing this on purpose, aren’t you!? You bastard!”_ Slaine grabbed Inaho by the collar and started shaking him, face so red Marito wondered if a vein would burst.

“Enough. Look, as I was saying, I respect your life choices and stuff, but a closet isn’t the place to consummate your relationship.”

“We weren’t consummating anything! We don’t have that kind of relationship!” And then suddenly becoming calmer he added in an almost dejected voice, “We don’t even have a relationship.”

“Right, so you guys are just fuckbuddies. That’s fi–”

“That’s not it!”

“We need to fix that,” Inaho unexpectedly stated, and abruptly stood up.

“Fix what?” Slaine asked baffled.

“The lack of a relationship,” he said and leaned down to grab Slaine’s wrist and pull him up. “We need to discuss that, let’s go.”

He began dragging the blond –who was too stunned to argue– out of the room.

“Hold on, we have to have a chat about time, place, lube and condoms first!” Marito’s words were getting slurred. Inaho turned to him from the doorway.

“Say nothing to no one and I won’t question why you were in a faraway room drinking a whole bottle of alcohol.”

“…fair point. So please leave so I can continue to see nothing.”

Inaho nodded and dragged his.. _.lover? Fuckbuddy? Friend?._..dragged _Slaine_ out of sight.

 _Being sober really isn't healthy for me_. Marito reflected before finishing the bottle.

***

Slaine let himself be dragged for a minute before he came back to his senses. He stopped, forcing Inaho to do the same, and pried his wrist away from the brunet's grip.

“Enough of this. Just…what do you want?”

“We’ve misunderstood each other again.”

“When?”

“You thought I had someone else start helping you because I got tired of your presence, correct?”

“…that wasn’t it?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Despite saying Slaine had made yet another mistake, Inaho sounded almost gentle about it. “I thought you were only staying by my side out of gratitude for my help, so I pushed you onto someone else because I thought I’d be freeing you of that.”

“You...thought I was hanging around you to mooch off your help?!”

“No,” Inaho quickly interjected, “I thought you were thanking me by putting up with me.”

“Why would I do that?” Slaine asked, honestly uncomprehending. “My being around you isn’t worth any–”

“It has worth to me.”  

 _Oh._  

 _Shit, how do I answer that? How do I even look him in the eye after that?_  

“I...I didn’t think it did.” He hid his face in his hands. “I screwed up again badly. I thought you–”

“It isn’t just your fault. It was also mine for not considering how you might take it.”

“You couldn’t have possibly known I would react like that.”

“I could have known, if I’d only paid attention to the signs. You’re always putting yourself down, of course you wouldn’t see your presence as a sufficient price.” Inaho sighed. “You once made a comment about how I was bad at reading people. You were right, I am, and it seems I nearly jeopardized a friendship because I couldn’t deal with it.”

Slaine managed to lower his hands. “Actually…you say I’m the one putting myself down but to me you did the same: assuming I had to be around you for some ulterior motive.” He couldn’t help it, he chuckled. “Looks like we both fail very badly at dealing with people getting close, huh? I suppose we were lucky at least this misunderstanding didn’t end with us shooting each other again.”

 _That_ did it. Inaho finally cracked a smile. “Yes, I suppose the fact that we didn’t try to kill each other is progress.” His smile left, but he remained clearly more relaxed. “I guess this is a lesson we should have learned the first time we met.”

“Which is?”

“Be very clear about your intent. So let me try this; Slaine, would you be my friend?”

Slaine could feel a blush creeping in again. _He sounds like he’s proposing to me, damn._

“Yes, and I hope you feel the same way?”

“Yes.”

Slaine snorted and shook his head. “I still can’t believe we screwed up a friendship. Anyway,” he extended a hand for a handshake. “Friends, then.”

Inaho moved to grasp it–

–but in the last second went and grabbed his wrist instead, pulling the hand near his face.  

“You went back to wearing gloves just after you thought I had cast you aside.”

 _Damn it._ “Coincidence?” He wished he could have said it with more certainty.

“No,” Inaho said, face blank yet clearly showing his own conviction. “Why?”

“I’m _not_ telling you.”

“...At least answer this: are gloves a form of…something like a safety blanket?”

“Not…exactly, no.”

“I see, then this should be fine.” Inaho pulled his glove off.

“H-hey! What was that for?”

“You were fine with not wearing them until I made that mistake, therefore you won’t be needing this any longer since I won’t do anything similar again.”

Before Slaine could find a flaw in his logic, Inaho’s hand moved to finally grasp his own. The touch without the glove’s material in-between made him feel goosebumps.

“Friends,” Inaho said, shaking their hands.

“Yes, frien– _hey don’t put my glove in your pocket!_ ” Inaho ignored him and finished tucking it out of sight, so he tried again. “What am I supposed to do with only one glove?” Slaine waved his other hand in front of Inaho’s face.

“A good point.” The brunet said and, lighting fast, also removed it and placed it with the other one.

“Inaho!’

“Were you not listening? You won’t need these anymore.”

“What if I need them for work?”

“Those gloves weren’t suited for labor, the Deucalion has special ones for specific tasks.”

“Fine, but what if something else makes me feel the need to wear them?”

“Then you’ll have to come to me and tell me what’s troubling you before I deign to give them back.”

“…I’m going to take them back right now,” Slaine threatened.

“Not without a fight. We are still quite close to Stg. Marito. Imagine if he were to walk down this corridor and find us grappling, you trying to tear my clothes off…”

“…!”

“You really do hate any implications of being in a sexual relationship with me, don’t you?”

“Of course! For one thing; _it’s not true._ And for another; its utterly mortifying that someone is right now assuming I’m so…so _horny_ as to just….lock myself in a closet and…” Slaine buried his face in his hands again.

“Hm. Speaking of older men; I’ll tell Tomoda to leave your new schedule up to me.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You don’t need to help me, wasn’t that clear?”

“Even if I don’t have to, it’s best if I do.”

“Hey, it’s alright, really. I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t quite believe that.”

“…you know what, _Orange?_ I’m going to make sure anyone walking down this corridor in the next five minutes will have absolutely no doubts that I’m trying to _murder_ you.”

***

“Do you three know why you’re here?”

They glanced at each other nervously and then back at Magbaredge, arms crossed and waiting.

“Err...we don’t…” Inko spoke up nervously.

“I’m told you three need to learn the dangers of locking people up.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Why isn’t the princess here too?” Calm whispered nervously when, an hour later, Magbaredge gave them a ten minute break in the lecture so she could go read a report. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s cute but that is no reason why she shouldn’t get her earful too!”

“Could it be Inaho didn’t tell Magbaradege about her involvement?” Inko wondered.

“If he didn’t, it’s probably because Slaine told him not to.” Nina suggested.

“Still! She needs to learn too! This is so–”

“What are you going to do? Rat her out?”

“I suppose not…”

Magbaredge came back, and the lecture resumed.

 _I am so going to keep his tablet because of this..._ Inko vowed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The misunderstanding didn't last for long since I felt it would be stretching it thin to do so. Plus, I plan ond ealing with ep12 ans s2, no need to prolong readers' suffering now.
> 
> -I'm so glad everyone liked Marito since this was already planned
> 
> -with this ends the chapters i had already partially written. Meaning, since Im writing two fics per week, now I might not manage to finish chapters and then send to my beta in time to post religiously every sunday nigth. We'll see.


	10. Pluviophile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pluviophile: _a lover of rain;someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days._

The training grounds had turned out to be disappointingly bare. Slaine supposed it shouldn't be too surprising: from what Inaho had told him of the Deucalion’s presumed history, whoever had made it might not have reached a point where that was necessary before giving up due to the lack of a means to activate the aldnoah drive. Really, considering how abandoned it had been, they were lucky it had at least stocked machine parts and bedroom supplies.

There wasn’t much he could do, so Slaine decided to go with pushups. He didn’t have exercise clothes, so he just rolled up his trousers and removed his outer shirt. The floor felt weird; it was covered with a matt to soften it.

He sat down and got ready to stretch when he felt eyes on him.  

_Inaho._ His brain suggested before he could even turn and check.

He looked and was relieved to find he wasn't wrong; the brunet was indeed standing by the door with his arms uncharacteristically crossed.  

"Good morning," Slaine greeted.

"Morning," Inaho replied, sounding a little more curt than usual, for him.

It could be the atypical body language, but despite Inaho's face being as expressionless as a brick wall, Slaine had the distinct feeling his mood was currently sour.

_Why?_ "Am I doing something you feel is incorrect?"

"...what makes you assume so?"  

"Your tone and your posture. I feel like you're annoyed."

"...interesting that you were able to notice, most can't tell what I'm feeling."

"I guess I've been with you so much I started noticing. So, what's wrong?"

Inaho huffed. "Inko refused to give back my tablet yesterday, and I'm not allowed in the girls' sleeping room so I have yet to recover it."

Slaine laughed. "I did warn you she wouldn't like you telling Captain Magbaredge."

"What they did was dangerous. You were even beginning to feel unwell when Marito found us."

The memory of his cool fingers on his neck and then the whole fiasco with the older man had him turning crimson.

"Are you turning red in embarrassment again?" It seemed to amuse the younger boy. "Remembering our chat with Sgt. Marito?"

_And your fingers, I guess I really was out of sorts, to think that felt good._ "Y-yeah, I still can't believe he thinks we were...ugh."

Inaho covered his mouth with his hand, but a strange breathy gasp reached Slaine's ear. "Are you... _laughing_ at me?"

"No?" Inaho tried, though he failed to look blank as usual.

"I see my distress is to your amusement."

"You don’t sound as offended as usual."

_How offended do I usually sound?_ "Ah...well...I guess because if it helps brighten you up I suppose it's not too bad. Besides, you're in the same situation."

"Hm. I don't think there is a situation. It was a misunderstanding that can be fixed easily if we call Inko and the others to testify. Furthermore, what he assumes we were doing isn't forbidden." He paused. "Were same sex relations not allowed by martians?"

Slaine burst out laughing. "Oh god, no, it was definitely ok. Else more than half the military would have to be punished."

"Interesting, they seemed to be trying to follow the feudal system and customs to the letter, so it made me wonder."

"Ah, well, I think they're fine with that because despite the planet's size, Mars really doesn't have that much habitable space or resources. I think by making that allowed they were hoping to lessen the birth rates."

"I see, if people were scared to come out, they might marry and have children in an attempt to hide. Hm, it's a smart move, I'm surprised they managed to think of it."

"You don't have a high opinion of their intelligence, do you?"

"They have overly superior weaponry at their disposal and have so far failed to win this war due to their own incompetence, so naturally I do. You don’t?"

"You forget martian history; originally the terrans sent to settle in Mars were intellectual people, mainly scientists and such. When it comes to science, inventing new forms of survival, strategies for population control, creative ways of adapting to difficult surroundings...they're good. But power, politics and war...they love it but yes, they're atrocious at it. It's a blessing, at least."

"Good point, I should have considered that. So why were you so worried about revealing you liked men too?"

_Why do we have to go back to that?_ "Just...uh..." _What a martian is allowed to like isn't the same as a lowly terran._ "I wasn't sure how things were done here." _Well, that's also true..._

"...I see," Inaho said, in a tone that made Slaine feel he didn't see it at all. He tried changing the subject.

"So...ah...since you don't really have anything to do why don't you join me?" He motioned to inside the room.  

"I suppose," Inaho accented, and finally left his spot on the doorway and came forward.

Satisfied, Slaine turned his head forward, and began stretching his upper body toward his feet–

–hands came down on his shoulder blades and it took effort to not instinctively jump away.

*

Although Slaine made no move to reject the touch, his sudden stillness and stiffness made it clear Inaho had transgressed. Hastily, he removed his hands and silently chided himself.

"Uh...what are you doing?" It was with some relief that Inaho noted the lack of tremble in Slaine's voice. _Or maybe he's just hiding it too well..._

"I apologize, I should have asked if you were ready.”

“For what?”

“Stretching, of course.”

“What does that have to do with your hands on my back?”

“...seems like exercises were different, then. To help you stretch, I was going to lightly push your back.”

“Oh, I see now. Martians didn’t pair up to do exercises.” Inaho disliked the relief in Slaine’s tone as he said it. “Sorry I got surprised. Hum...I guess you can do what you were going to do?”

“It’s my fault for not asking first,” Inaho replied, putting his hands in Slaine’s back again and lightly pushing. He felt Slaine fight back for a few seconds before allowing his torso to be pushed forward; bent until with his arm outstretched he could touch the tip of his toe.

The silence didn’t feel too good for Inaho; possibly because he could still feel tension coming from Slaine’s body.

_He let me do it easily...so it’s not that he distrusts me, but a general instinctual reaction to the situation. If that is so, distracting him is the best option._

“If helping you isn’t what you meant when you called me...did you mean to have me do exercises as well?”

“Obviously? I mean, you have to do some training too.”

“I do the minimum necessary to stay in a healthy state. No more is required.”

“What? I get piloting a kat isn’t exactly demanding of much physical strength, but if you have the time to get stronger, why won’t you?”

“As I’ve said, because it’s unnecessary.”

“...you’re lazy.”

“Just because I choose to exercise my mind rather than my body doesn’t–”

“Whatever. You know…” Slaine turned his head sideways to look at Inaho from the corner of his eye. “If I’d been aware I was fighting with someone _this_ unprepared I’d have held back more.”

Inaho noticed his smile and felt himself responding in kind. “‘More’? You barely managed to win. You should worry; if someone like me can nearly beat you despite the difference in training, then your skills are lacking–” His brain caught up and the brunet shut his mouth but it was too late; Slaine would take it the wrong way–

Surprisingly, the blond laughed. “It’s more likely that you are really good at this. I...wait, what’s with that face, did you expect me to agree?”

“Considering your behavior thus far…”

“Well, if I _am_ wrong and my abilities aren’t as good as I think they are...then martians are terrible at close combat. I once managed to survive against three grown men.”

“That’s impressive.” Inaho said truthfully, though secretly it tugged at his heartstrings a little; considering what he had learned so far, he doubted the situation the blond was talking about had been lighthearted.

He was glad to see that Slaine was blushing at the response and not thinking back too much over whatever happened. Still, he should write this down–

Mechanically, he moved to take out his tablet but remembered he no longer had it. The other noticed it and frowned.

“Why do you want your tablet this instant?”

“To write something down so I won’t forget.”

“Right this second? Does it have something to do with what I just said?”

Inaho hesitated; he needed to write everything down so he forgot nothing and then later used his notes to better figure out how to help Slaine.

But Slaine might not appreciate that.

“I want to write down any information on martian behavior.” It was true.

“Hm, don’t worry. I doubt by the time you get your tablet back from Inko you’ll have forgotten.”

_That’s also true, I don’t think I could possibly forget these things_. “I suppose. Shall we go to breakfast?” he asked, getting up.

“Fine,” Slaine replied, following suit. They began to walk out of there. “But don’t think you’ve escaped. We’ll come back another time and you _will_ exercise.”

“You need more convincing arguments for that.”

“Beating you at a match again will be convincing enough don’t you think?”

“I–” he stopped his answer when he noticed Slaine’s attention on someone else walking down the corridor: Rayet.

She saw them and walked over, looking at Slaine. “Looks like you patched things up with Mr. Emotionless here. Good for you.”

“Thank you,” Slaine replied. Rayet moved as if to leave so he hastily added: “Err, but you know, this doesn’t change anything right? I would still like it if we talked again. In fact, won’t you join us for breakfast?”

For a moment the girl’s face showed visible surprise before shutting off again. “Sorry, I’ve already eaten.” She sounded sincere in her regret. “Maybe another time.”

“You made a new friend in my absence. Was she my replacement?” Inaho inquired when she left. The look on Slaine’s face made him realize how unfair his words were as soon as they came out. “I apologize, I hadn’t–”

But horrified, Slaine didn’t let him finish. “What?! People aren’t things to get substituted!” He hesitated, looking down for a second. “At least, that’s what I think.”

Inaho balled his hand into a fist as he understood the implications of that. Thankfully, Slaine had more to say and didn’t dwell on it. “Because I was distancing myself from you, we ended up talking...it’s not–”

Inaho cut him, before Slaine started to feel guilty over it. “I didn’t mean to sound like you shouldn’t have befriended her, I’m sorry.”

“R-right! It’s not like _you_ have any say in who I get close to, I’ll talk to whoever I want.”

“Precisely,” Inaho said, glad Slaine was acting offended; it was a safe emotion. “In fact, maybe I should thank her for being there for you when you felt alone.”

For a moment Slaine nearly lost his balance while walking, but recovered and looked at Inaho. “You don’t need to go that far...”

_He’s faintly blushing, why is he embarrassed this time?_ He considered replying but they had arrived at the mess hall.

They found their friends already there. Inko, Calm and Nina gave Inaho varying degrees of glares while Eddelrittuo looked confused and Asseylum beamed.

“I’m so glad you guys worked things out!” she gushed.

“T-thank you Your Highness! Were you the one who alerted Inaho’s friends?”

“Yes, since you both refused to tell me what happened, I went to them.”

“I’m very grateful for your help, Your Highness!”

“However, you all could have simply told us it was a misunderstanding, rather than attempt that prank.”

“Inaho!” The blond hissed at him.

“I already spared her from Magbaredge’s telling off at your request, but she must hear it from someone.”

For some reason, Nina nudged Inko, mouthing “I told you so” and her glare became less pronounced.

“But did you _have_ to tell Magbaredge, man?” Calm demanded.

“Obviously. You should have at least verified if that place was safe to use. It wasn’t; while we were lucky it wasn’t airtight, Slaine was unused to the heat. If someone hadn’t come and opened the door he might have lost consciousness.”

”It wasn’t that serious! It’s alright–”

“It was serious and no, it wasn’t alright.” He turned to Asseylum again. “We were lucky nothing happened. I know the idea was probably not yours, but please don’t condone such actions in the future.”

Eddelrittuo banged her hands on the table and stood up. “How dare you–”

Asseylum stopped her. “It’s fine. If it was dangerous, we shouldn't have done it.”

The maid quieted down but kept glaring at Inaho throughout breakfast. He didn’t mind, glad Slaine didn’t get angry at him.

“Inko, my–”

“Don’t bother, I’m not giving it back yet.”

***

Glancing at the direction Inaho and Slaine had gone, Rayet sighed.

Slaine’s company hadn’t been bad; he was smart and knowledgeable and polite.

Still, the fact that he’s now go back to being glued to Inaho –or was it the brunet that was glued to him?– didn’t bother her. On the contrary, she was glad he left.

Slaine had demonstrated he had no love for the martians…but clearly idolized Asseylum.

Rayet couldn’t understand –and much less stand– such adoration and felt if he remained too long near her, gushing about the princess whenever he could, she might snap.

Just what is it about her that has everyone liking her so easily? She wondered. Her thoughts darkened, and she hastily went as far away from the princess as she could.

She wasn’t sure what she might do with some prolonged exposure to her.

***

“It seems we won’t be meeting each other for a few hours,” Inaho stated, glancing at Slaine’s schedule.

Slaine tried to not show his disappointment. “I suppose…”

“If so, will you come with me now, before going to your first task? There’s something I want to give you now, in case you feel like needing it later.”

“My gloves?”

“No.”

“Ugh. But fine, I guess.”

As they walked to Inaho’s room, Slaine remembered something. “Say, Inaho, I know you aren’t using Princess Asseylum, but what are your plans for her? Or with her?”

“You weren’t told?”

“I...didn’t really ask before now…”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t think it was my place.” _A simple unranked person demanding his superiors tell him their plans...it was ridiculous._

“That was foolish. After all you’ve done, and especially for her sake, you should have a right to know. Still, I suppose you didn’t miss out on anything; we don't have anything planned.”

“Really?”

“We’re headed to the UFE base in Russia and the Captain will make a decision there. Most likely, they’ll issue a proclamation from Seylum telling everyone to cease hostilities.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

They reached Inaho’s room and entered. Slaine was surprised to find Inaho’s bunk was bare of anything too personal.

Inaho removed a suitcase from under the bed and pried it open to reveal a few articles of clothing neatly arranged.

“I’m afraid we couldn’t find spare clothes, so I’m going to give you mine. I have some that are a little big so they should be fine on you.”

“Oh no, I couldn't possibly take away your stuff!”

“It’s just a standard uniform, I have three sets. I can wear one while another is being washed and you can have the third set and use it when your current clothes are being cleaned. Incidentally, I’m handing you this now because I’m in charge of laundry duty later and I feel it’ll be simpler if I take care of our uniforms already.”

“I see. Okay then, thank you!” he took the proffered uniform and moved to leave…

“Where are you going?” Inaho asked without moving.

“Hum...is there something else?”

“We just saw that our schedules won’t match. It’s best if you just change into the uniform now and leave your martian one with me so I can take it to the laundry later. Besides, it’s best if we verify the clothing will indeed fit.”

“O-oh, okay.” He hesitated, not sure why.

“Is it uncomfortable for you to be unclothed in front of someone else? I can leave the room.”

Slaine didn’t understand why there was a note of worry in Inaho’s tone; usually he’d ask such a thing impassively. “No, it’s fine. I mean, I _am_ sharing a room with other people here and that’s how I get dressed anyway, and with the martians it was the same. I said it, didn’t I? I’m used to it.”

“But if you don't feel good about it I can–”

He wasn’t sure why Inaho was making a bigger deal out of it than he was. “Look, it’s totally alright to do it now, here–” He hastily began to remove his clothes.

*

Marito walked down the corridor, concentrating on summarizing how his team was fairing thus far to report to Magbaredge, when he walked near the sleeping quarters.

“But if you don't feel good about it I can–”

He stopped, recognizing the voice.

_Oh, fuck no..._

“Look, it’s totally alright to do it now, here–”

He rushed towards the nearest room and banged the door open to find Inaho and Slaine by a bed, the blond starting to take his clothes off.

_“Hey!_ ” He yelled as both boys turned to look at him in confusion. “No forcing him to do anything he isn’t feeling up to yet!”

“I-it’s not what you’re thinking!”

“Oh please, I can even see remorse on Kaizuka Junior’s face right now!”

The blond whirled around to verify that, yes, for once Inaho was looking evidently troubled.

“I didn’t mean to force anything, he was taking his clothes off of his own volition.”

“He might be doing it because he doesn’t want to disappoint you or look weak by saying no.”

Inaho turned to Slaine. “It’s fine to say no. I won’t–”

“Oh for the love of– _you are both speaking about very different things!_ Sgt. Marito, I assure you this isn’t about sex. He was just worried I might be embarrassed about removing my clothes in–”

“Say no more. Now I understand. The whole “lights on or off” debacle, right?”

“N-no it’s–”

“It’s alright, we all have that problem at one point boy. Junior! Do you have the lube and condom I gave you earlier?”

“ _You gave Inaho lu_ _–_ ”

“They’re in my drawer.”

_“You kept them?!”_

“Good; make sure to use them because body fluids are _not_ substitutes!”

“ _Oh God...kill me...”_

“As for your impasse, you should go with what Slaine prefers, so here, I’m going to turn off the lights and close the door. Good luck!”

He hastily retreated and rushed to his destination.

Hopefully, a mechanic would accidently drop some heavy metallic thing on his head and he’d get amnesia.

*

Despite the lights turned off, the illumination from the small window made sure Inaho could still see the outlines of things, if only barely. In front of him, he could discern Slaine hiding his face in his hands.

“How could things get this way?” he moaned.

“Hm,” Inaho barely replied, not really caring about what the older man might think. His mind went back to what was actually worrying, “Listen, you don’t–”

“What’s with you? Since when are you so concerned about these things? Why is it you suddenly assume I’m so sensitive?”

“...I was just trying to be helpful…”

“Is this because of the misunderstanding?”

Inaho didn’t want to lie, so he said nothing. Slaine sighed.

“Just...go turn on the lights while I finish changing, would you?”

Inaho saw no reason not to, so walked to the doorway.

“Seriously, why does this keep happening?” He heard Slaine mumble through the rustle of clothing.

Inaho turned the lights on. “If it means so much, I can try to talk to him and–” he stopped, because he had turned around.

His first thought was ‘He takes off his clothes fast’.

His seconds thoughts were muddled, and had to do with nice curves and back muscles and–

As if sensing his thoughts, Slaine –thankfully already putting on trousers– turned around.

“What?” he asked suspiciously as his elegant legs disappeared inside the fabric.

“...Nice body,” Inaho replied before he could process how that’d sound like. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he added a little hastily when Slaine started stuttering and turning red.

“W-what _did_ you mean?” the blond was putting on the remaining clothes even faster than before.

It took Inaho a disturbing second too long to figure out an acceptable reply. “Your body looks muscular and healthy, you’ve taken good care of yourself, that’s good.”

_And no sign of any scars or old bruises._ The thought was comforting. “And no bruises despite our ordeal a few days ago.”

“Oh,” Slaine sounded equally relieved even if his face remained crimson. “My skin heals fast.”

_Meaning even if you had been beaten just before defecting, it wouldn’t show up anymore..._ Inaho’s mood soured.

“Huh, this does fit me,” the older boy stated, looking to his new clothes. “Do I look weird?”

“Not at all, though you look younger. That is, you look your age.”

“Ah...I suppose that’s not a bad thing.” He moved experimentally. “It feels less constricting than the martian uniform. Thank you again for these!”

“It was nothing. Shall we go?”

“Sure. But...uh...why don’t you, you know, throw away what Sgt. Marito gave you?”

“Why would I? It would be a waste. Maybe I can later give it to someone who needs it more–”

“Like Calm?”

“I assure you, Calm is always thinking about such things because he never has any luck getting it.”

Slaine tried to stifle his laughter. “P-poor guy…”

“Hm. Maybe I should give it to you?”

“M-me?”

“I hear you’re very popular with people here. Of both genders. So–”

“N-no thanks, I don’t plan on...uh...needing anything like that for a time.”

“Very well. Regardless, I don’t see why I should throw them away, even if the chances of my using them are slim–”

“There really is no need to continue this conversa–”

Knowing Slaine’s complaints were only out of embarrassment, he ignored them and continued. “Speaking of which, this reminds me, I’ve been reflecting on what happened during the time we were locked in that closet.”

“Please tell me you aren’t intending to talk about–”

“I’ve been wanting to verify if indeed human contact would get a reaction from me–”

“You are. I don’t believe this.”

“But I realize propositioning random people will not end well. So, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to do an expe–”

“ _No!_ ”

***

“Well done, Slaine! That was better!” Inko’s voice said.

Slaine sighed as he watched his results appear on the simulator’s screen.

Inko –currently in charge of overseeing simulator training– was right, he had improved. But that didn't mean much, Slaine’s result were still very underwhelming.

He tried to not feel too bad about it; it was his first time practicing piloting such different technology and he was still getting the handle of the controls. And if that wasn’t problematic enough, he had been distracted, remembering again and again Inaho’s words earlier…

He shuddered. Inaho had no clue of what he was saying, _he’s too oblivious and didn’t really mean it_ , he told himself, and wish he’d stop reacting to it. _I shouldn’t even care this_ _–_

“Slaine?” Inko’s voice came through the mic and the blond hastily collected himself.

“I’m so sorry Inko, could you repeat that?”

“Oh, nothing much. I was just saying you can stop now, if you want.”

Slaine’s first instinct was to assure her he could go on. However, he knew by now the girl wouldn’t look down at him if he refused, and he was a little tired. Besides, he wouldn’t make any improvements if his mind was too busy thinking about Inaho.

“Is it really fine? I’m still scheduled for a while here.” He asked, opening the hatch and looking at her on the ground.

She saw him and gave him a thumbs up. “It’s fine!” She yelled, directly speaking to him this time, “I think no one thought you’d get the hang of it so quickly! You can totally go do something else now.”

“I would hardly call my results getting the hang of it.” He said self-consciously, getting down from the simulator.

“Don't be silly, you didn't even know how to pilot one before now. You’re doing great. So go on, go take a break.” Seeing he wasn’t convinced, she tried something else. “Here, why don't you ask Inaho to help you? I’m sure he would.”

“I...suppose I could ask him.” Doubtlessly Inaho would be too busy now, but he supposed he could check if the other had some free time at some point he wouldn’t mind spending giving him some advice…

“You do that. And...speaking of that annoying guy...would you give him this for me?” She handed him a tablet, looking slightly red faced. “I think he has been enough time without it. And...hum...I’m really sorry that our little prank was actually so dangerous.”

He smiled. “It’s fine. We all make mistakes, no harm was done, and you did help us. I’ll go look for him now, then.”

It’s only after he walked a little that he realized he had no idea where, specifically, Inaho would be at this exact time.

_He had said he’d do laundry duty, but is he there already? That paper he gave me when I first arrived was too vague, and his duties have changed since them. Well, I’ll just look around_ _._

He remembered the tablet; the day’s schedule for Inaho wasn’t new, so even if the brunet hadn’t had his tablet since the day before, he might have his current duties in there...

Slaine was unused to this sort of equipment; but the button to turn it on was obvious and he was relieved to find the tablet wasn’t password locked.

He found the recent history part. Slaine didn’t like to pry, so he decided to look over the title of the files without reading anything…

But the name of the most recently viewed caught his attention.

“Symptoms of abuse”, “How to treat someone with abuse” “Checklist of symptoms” and on it went, some specific, others not…

Slaine felt his blood run cold. He wasn’t an idiot; it was obvious who this was about. And suddenly, Inaho’s recent behavior was explained.

***

Inaho had just finished putting the last set of clothing in the wash when Slaine came in.

“So you finished with the simulator early.” He stated. It wasn’t too surprising, really, not with Slaine’s skills.

“I now know how to do the basics, but I’m a mess at it.”

“I’m sure you went better than most would have on their first try.”

“...maybe.” Slaine said a little too quietly, and Inaho finally picked up on how somber he looked.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, and then noticed what the blond was clutching to his chest. “Is that my tablet?”

“Yes. Inko asked me to hand it to you. And...well...I guess I should apologize…”

“For?”

“I wanted to find where you were so I thought I could just search for your schedule on it, but I saw some file names.”

Inaho inhaled sharply. “Slaine…”

“This is why you’ve been so...touchy about everything, isn’t it? It’s because you think I’ve been abused?”

“I don’t think it, it’s clear to me you have. Do you deny it?”

“Of course, they never touched me like–”

“Touch? _Oh_ , oh _no._ ” Inaho shuddered as he tried to not have his mind go down that path. “Abuse can also be physical or emotional. Physical being defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment, including the usage of punishment. And emotional or psychological abuse can be characterized as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts, including verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, harassment and social isolation, among other things.”

“...Oh.” Inaho noticed how Slaine’s hands were heavily grasping his tablet. “Yeah, I guess that’s correct then.” He tried to make light of it by chuckling. Inaho’s unamused expression stopped him quickly. “Okay then, let’s just… settle some things. First, you definitely haven’t decided to befriend me because–”

“ _No!_ ” Inaho said, more empathically than he thought himself capable of.

“Okay, just checking. Uh...listen, Inaho...I don’t need help–”

“Slaine–”

“Stop. Look, I want a friend not a shrink. I do react badly to stuff, because it’s been only a little while since I left five years of people treating me badly. I still need to adjust. I’ll be well eventually, so stop trying to be my doctor, okay?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I can’t. If I think something might hurt you, I can't just ignore it and let you be. I didn’t start this because I wanted to act like a psychiatrist. I did so because you suffering isn’t something I can accept. So I apologize, but I can’t make any promises on that front.”

Slaine blinked twice before hiding his face behind the tablet. “Ugh, I can’t...deal with you when you say things like that. F-fine just, don’t treat me like I’m so frail I’ll break, won’t you?”

“I will assume you are used to such terrible things that you can make it past less significant stuff without adding to your pain.”

“Good. Uh, thanks for–”

“Don't. It’s what friends are for.”

“R-right. Just one more thing then. You even made a list of all my issues, and you never once told me you were studying me and my behavior.”

Inaho nearly flinched, but Slaine continued before he could try to say anything. “Worry and help me if you want, but please stop writing it all down, making lists, downloading this information to read…”

“I will delete it all, right now.” Inaho promised, and stretched out his hand to receive the tablet.

“Thank you,” Slaine said as he watched Inaho remove the files. He then sighed. “Look, I get it. You probably didn’t think telling me was necessary, nor did you think there was anything wrong with making lists. It’s...unnerving to think you were studying me so thoroughly like a subject but…” He smiled weakly, “I get you weren’t aware it would look bad and only meant to help, so I’m not mad.”

For a moment Inaho couldn’t believe how easily he was trusted and forgiven, but then guilt flooded him.

“You’re...mistaken. Partially mistaken, that is.”

Slaine froze, smile diminishing. “How so?”

“I knew. I was aware making lists and writing down every detail is not something people like. I’ve done it before –once, when I tried it to help my sister– with negative feedback. And considering your reactions, I had every reason to suppose you’d be the same. So much so I purposely replied vaguely when you inquired this morning.”

“You knew...and yet you did it?” Slaine’s tone was of inquiry, but Inaho didn’t doubt he was disappointed underneath it.

“I wanted to help, and believed –and still believe– that was the right course of action.”

“...”

Inaho didn’t lower his gaze, instead staring unblinking at Slaine to gauge his reaction. If the blond judged him ill, or looked disappointed, it was his own fault to begin with and he deserved no less than to face it.

Slaine looked lost, blinking rapidly as if trying to think. Finally he stopped and, to Inaho's surprise, chuckled.

“Seriously, Inaho,” he groaned, as hand pushed his bangs in a nervous gesture, “you act like you don't care for compliments, yet you're forcing me to say this…”

“Say what?”

“I’m still...not mad about it, because it’s you.” Slaine's cheeks and neck were scarlet, but he wasn't avoiding eye contact. Inaho couldn’t decipher his look. “I...believe certain means can be justifiable depending on the end. I...believe you honestly meant to help and nothing more, and so I can’t feel offended you’d do this even if you knew how I’d be against it. The fact you respected me enough to delete it just now when I asked helps, too. And…” he licked his lips and wrung his hands, but still his gaze didn’t waver. “If anyone else had done it I’d honestly be questioning if I was truly okay with being treated like this, or if I was just so used to such terrible treatment I am forgiving things I wouldn't really do had I not suffered. But...you’re the person I’m most comfortable with here. Though I _do_ feel grateful to you, somehow I still feel safe enough to argue and disagree when I see fit. So if I’m not mad at this right now...it’s not only because I believe you really did mean well, but also because I am honestly fine with it.”

_Oh._

Before he knew it, Inaho was staring at the ground.

“Are you...avoiding my eyes, Inaho?”

“You always avoid mine when saying...things like that. So now I’m unused to it, Bat,” he retorted feeling his heart beat a little too fast considering he hadn’t been doing any physical exercise.

There was a light laughter and he saw Slaine’s feet coming towards him until he was in his personal space. An arm reached out and tugged at his sleeve.

“Now you know how I feel most of the time around you, Orange.”

_I doubt it._ His lifted his eyes to look at the other’s face and made an effort not to look away again. “If so, I don’t see why you always complain, it’s not a bad feeling.”

Now it was Slaine’s turn to look away, as the color that had been leaving his face came back full force. He tried to step back but Inaho put a hand over the one on his arm to hold him in place.

“T-this and that are totally different! Do you even realize what some of the things you say sound like?!”

“Tell me.”

“...you–”

“ _Attention, all c_ rew.” Magbaredge’s voice came over the intercom. “We’re going to pass under some rain clouds. Our systems tell us there is no danger of thunder. Even so, remain inside at all times and avoid opening any windows. Thank you.”

“Rain?”

The excitement in Slaine’s tone was obvious.

“We’re close to the outside deck.” The brunet said, turning around and pulling Slaine along by the wrist. “We have time available, let’s go.”

*

Slaine opened the door leading to the top of the Deucalion and was mesmerized.

_Rain._

Funny, how he had never cared for it before, but after so long…

_It’s beautiful._ The smell, the sensation and the sound of it were precious. He didn’t move, just staring at it from beyond the doorway.

“Slaine,” Inaho’s voice was so soft he nearly hadn’t registered it. He prized his eyes away from the sight in front of him to look back at Inaho.

“Hm?”

*

Slaine was looking at him with the same intense happiness he had when he saw the princess

_No, it was not at me that this joy is aimed at all._

He didn’t mind, the look was too fascinating anyway.  

“You’ll catch a cold. Even if you don’t go outside, just standing here where the wind and rain can still reach you is–”

*

“Thank you.” Slaine interjected with sincerity, even if just to be practical, it was nice having Inaho worry. “I know that, so I won’t go outside or anything. And I’ll only stay here a few minutes so I probably won’t catch a cold.” He didn’t add that Inaho didn’t need to stay, as he knew the brunet would just leave if he didn’t want to.

Sure enough, the younger boy nodded, said. “There is something I have to do then.” And left without so much as a goodbye.

His enjoyment in the rain plummeted now that he didn’t have company –and specifically, Inaho’s company– beside him.

_But since I’m here, I might as well stay five minutes…_

He sat down, back leaning on the open door, staring sideways at the rain falling outside.

Slaine was so transfixed he didn’t hear someone coming until something was dropped in his lap.

“Wha–” he said, startled, and then realized the something was a blanket.

“With this we can keep warm and avoid catching anything.” Inaho stated, sitting down next to Slaine, wrapped in his own blanket.

“…I…thank you! And…’we’? Are you sure you want to stay? Isn’t this sight common for you?”

Inaho shrugged. “Right now the sight I see feels…fascinating.”

Slaine beamed. Warm and accompanied by Inaho, his rain watch couldn’t be any more perfect. “It is!” he agreed and went back to watching the rain.

*

Inaho was glad that Slaine was too absorbed in it to realize where the brunet’s own gaze was truly on.

Rain was boring, rain was commonplace. It was just condensed water falling.

The way Slaine looked, serene and awed as he gave it his full adoration, on the other hand, was enthralling.

*

Slaine wasn’t sure how much time passed when he felt something slightly heavy bump against his shoulder and stay there.

Thinking it was Inaho’s hand, Slaine turned from the rain to the side the brunet was. “Yes?”

He froze; the weight on his shoulder was Inaho’s head.

Slaine didn’t have heart –or the desire– to wake him up so he let him be.

_He should be more wary around someone he knows is into men_ , the blond thought, resisting the urge to caress his head. It meant nothing; surely he’d feel the same way towards any cute brunet that did likewise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> - _"I...believe certain means can be justifiable depending on the end. I...believe you honestly meant to help and nothing more, and so I can’t feel offended you’d do this even if you knew how I’d be against it"_ Let me explain this line: in s2 Slaine, while accepting asseylum will dislike him for it, still goes and tramples on all she believes to protect her. To me, that denotes that Slaine believes end might justify the means, else he wouldnt have done it at all. So i think that, when confronted with a situation where someone stepped over his feelings to help him, he can't exactly get too mad. That and coupled with the reason he explaons in the chapter (trust in inaho) would mean he'd be ok with it, this one time.
> 
> -I've noticed it's very very common for exercises in anime to be with of paired up variety, so I reasoned Inaho might know some.
> 
> -Again similarities with In Carcere are coincidental. I flinched when i realized I was writing Slaine saying it looks like he's being a test subject but knows Inaho wouldnt do that. Well, there's reasons for the difference in reaction.


	11. Basiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basiation: _kissing_

Calm was woken up.

Or at least, he thought he was, but the next few minutes clearly showed he was having a nightmare.

It started innocently enough, with Inaho nudging him awake like usual.

“I’m up,” he groaned to stop the insistent prodding.

“Are you truly awake?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks again man,” he replied, rubbing his eyes.

Inaho didn’t leave. That was strange.

“Calm, I’ve been reflecting on something, and I feel I need help.”

“O...kay?”

“Considering you and I are close, and you also happen to be male and blond, I came to the conclusion you are the best person to verify my sexuality with.”

It took a few seconds for Calm’s brain to process the request and alarm bells to start ringing. “ _W-what?_!”

“And taking into account how much you desire sexual contact, and how ineffective you’ve been in obtaining it so far, surely you won’t refuse–”

Calm’s blatant refusal came in the form of a pillow to the brunet’s face.

*

Much later, after Calm had pinched himself red in case the horror wasn’t real, he realized something…

_But why was it important that I’m a boy and blond?_

He walked to breakfast still slightly unnerved...to the point he noticed only too late he’d taken a wrong turn.

 _Shit, it’s all Inaho’s fault for saying such weird shit this early in the morning_ _–_

As if the universe wanted to mock his pain, he heard Inaho’s voice from further away.

“–so now if you want to practice outside you should be warm enough.”

“Thank you! You really shouldn’t have but...thank you! Are you sure you won't be needing this? I mean, you already gave me one of your uniforms...”

On tiptoe, Calm quietly walked to the corner and took a peek at the other corridor.

Slaine and Inaho were outside the laundry room, Slaine excitedly putting on what Calm recognized as Inaho’s old coat.

“The climate inside the Deucalion doesn’t require that, so it’ll be more useful to you,” Inaho explained tonelessly, then, with a small amused smile, moved forward to help push down the coat, as Slaine was seemingly stuck while trying to put it on. “As I expected, it’s a little small for you.”

From his position, Calm couldn’t see Slaine’s face, but the coat was clearly tight at his back.

“Perhaps this was a mistake–”

“N-no! It’s fine, it isn’t that tight.”

“Are you certain? You plan on exercising outside in this. If it’s too tight, it’ll jeopardize circulation.”

Slaine grabbed Inaho’s hand and put it under the collar of the coat. “See? There’s sufficient space.”

“Hm,” Inaho said noncommittally. “So, you definitely aren’t doing this because you don’t want to refuse it?”

The hand, Calm noted, was still shoved under Slaine’s coat, touching his collarbone, but neither boy seemed to mind it.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Calm quickly ran back the way he came from in case they chose to walk towards him. That exchange, when considering all the other interactions he’d seen between the two and then compared to Inaho interacting with his friends…

...Calm thought he might have an inkling as to why Inaho need to check his sexuality with a “blond boy”.

***

“Oh, hello Rayet.”

“Slaine,” she greeted, nodding. “Why are you in charge of the simulator?”

“Oh, since I’ve made sufficient progress in it, at least according to Inko and Ms. Yuki, I was asked to take care of it today while they do other tasks. It’s free right now, do you want to have a go?”

“No,” Rayet replied quickly. Breaking down in front of Yuki had been bad enough, she didn’t want to look weak in front of Slaine. “I was just looking around. I’m free and the training grounds were a disappointment.”

“Yes, they were quite bare. Push-ups and weightlifting are the only viable options there.”

“Exactly. There’s also combat but these guys aren't good at that.”

“You are? Inaho and I do that sometimes, do you want to join us?”

“...I–”

“Oh, my! Slaine, Rayet!”

She felt her mood plummet just as Slaine’s face lit up and he turned to look at Asseylum, with Eddelrittuo –or as Rayet thought of her,“the shadow”– looking a little more put out than usual.

“Your Highness! How are you?!”

Rayet managed to nod in the general direction of the blond girl. The maid glared but Asseylum beamed.

“I was going to go help Dr. Yagarai. Or at least, study so one day I can be of assistance.”

“There’s no need for that, your Highness, your good heart is enough!”

 _I’m going to be sick,_ Rayet thought in disgust.

“Anyway, it’s great I found you guys, I think I’ll go see the sunset outside to day, do you want to go with me?”

 _Only if it’s to throw you overboard._ “...I have other stuff to do,” she ground out.

“Thank you so much for inviting me, your Highness, but I agreed to meet with Inaho around that time, so I’ll have to speak to him first.”

_Oh? Now that was unexpected._

“I understand.” Asseylum smiled. “And there’s something I need to give you. I should have done so before but…” from around her neck she removed a pendant and pushed it towards Slaine. “Thank you, it seems it does indeed bring good luck since I escaped even my assassination attempt unharmed–”

Rayet hopes no one can hear her rapid heartbeat, and none of her fear is showing on her face...

“Oh no, that isn’t necessary at all!” The blond hastily rejected it. “I gave it to you for good luck. If it has worked so far, it’s best you keep it since we’ll be met with more strife in the future.”

“But–”

“It’s fine, you can return it to me after everything is over.”

Rayet found it surprising how easily Asseylum gave up after that, going on her way.

“I can’t believe you didn’t just drop Kaizuka to be with her later,” the red haired girl said when she and Slaine were alone again.

“I had already made a–”

“So? The way you act around her, I thought being by her side was priority.” She stopped, realizing something. “Actually, it’s weird how little you are next to her…”

Slaine smiled. “Not at all. She is...my savior and my light. Without her I would never have withstood the treatment I got from the martians. I seek her happiness, not her company. Even if I can’t see her, so long as I know she’s well, that is enough for me. So I don’t need to be besides her.”

_Why is she all that to you? What’s so great about her?_

***

“Inaho?”

“Good morning, Seylum.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting…”

“My work is done. Is there something you need?”

“I’ve been meaning to go see the sunset today. I invited Slaine but he said he'd need to talk to you first since you had agreed to meet up already.”

Even if he didn’t want to go, or allow Slaine to break it off with him to do it, Inaho knew being against it would only depress Slaine, who would certainly not refuse honoring the prior engagement regardless of what he truly wanted. “I don’t see any issue with it. We’ll go. Is that all?”

Beside the princess, Eddelrittuo bristled at the dismissive tone.

“That’s great, thank you! And I wanted to ask something of you, it has to do with Slaine…” she handed him a familiar pendant. “I once told you this belonged to a terran boy I knew.”

“Yes, I assumed it was Slaine.”

“Exactly, it is. This pendant is very precious to him, and he handed it to me for my protection, since it’s said to bring good luck–”

“There is no basis for such a superstitious assumption,” Inaho cut off, and was startled by having done it. The idea of a pendant bringing good luck –specially a terran one– was ludicrous, but it shouldn't annoy him so.

Asseylum looked taken aback at having been so curtly interrupted, but recovered quickly.

“Don’t say that, you can’t be sure. And I _was_ very lucky to not be assassinated,” she admonished. “Anyway, it means a lot to him, so I want to return it but he refuses to accept it back. Won’t you please convince him for me?”

 _You should try to do that at least without relying on me. And if he wants you to keep it, maybe you should listen to his wishes,_ Inaho thought, yet his hand moved to take the proffered object and he nodded in assent.

“Thank you so much!” Asseylum said heartily before going on her way.

Inaho looked at the pendant one more time before putting it in his pocket.

 _My actions and feelings recently have been strange. Perhaps_ _–_

“Oi, skipping work to fool around with the martian?” A voice snidely complained behind him.

Turning around, towards the inside of the room he’d been working in before Asseylum called, the brunet found himself looking at his supervisor, a boy only a few years older than him.

“No. My work is done,” he stated the obvious. Somehow, the answer angered the man, who scowled.

“If you finished, why not do something else?”

“I was waiting further orders.” Which should have come from the supervisor, who should have noticed Inaho’s status long before, but he hadn’t as he’d been busy slacking off with his friends.

“Is that so? I have some stuff that must be given to the Captain. Go take it there.” He points to a pile. It’s large, nearly Inaho’s own height.

“Is there some cart to wheel that to her?”

“Cart? Oh no.” The boy’s grin is menacing. “You can just use your arms.”

*

It wasn’t surprising, really, that he was being bullied.

Every time he and Yuki changed places, and remained somewhere for a while, kids around his age tended to pick on him.

On the Deucalion, he had recently saved them all, and then there was the awe and fear of their situation diverting everyone’s attention…

But those lessened with time. As the journey became longer and his contact with other people increased during his assigned tasks, he could see them slowly getting angry.

His sister had once explained people bullied him because they were jealous. Inaho felt that might not be all; there was also the fact he was different.

Still, with his supervisor and his friends, bitterness was clearly the reason. They blatantly disliked how he was younger yet smarter and more efficient than them.

He inwardly sighed as he attempted to navigate the corridors carrying more weight than was safe, and without managing to see in front of him due to the pile.

_I hope their petty retaliation doesn’t go much further. We have to live at close quarters for a while._

His arm twitched, hurting a little from the strength it’s using.

He walked through the doorway to the simulator and looked inside; with his back to the brunet was Slaine, checking something on the fake kat’s control.

The momentary distraction made him lose control that unbalanced the whole thing…

Paper and metal boxes clatter to the floor as the whole thing toppled sideways.

He supposed it was only inevitable it would happen eventually, and Inaho crouches down and began gathering it all up with another sigh.

The brunet heard footsteps coming closer and wasn’t surprised; of course Slaine would have heard such a loud noise.

“Oh! Let me help– _Inaho_?” Inaho looked up in time to see Slaine give a start before falling to the floor to help him.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Don’t thank me for such a silly thing. Just how much stuff is there? Were you carrying all this yourself?”

“Yes.”

“ _Why_?”

Inaho shrugged and avoided eye contact by focusing on the stuff he was gathering. The last person he wanted knowing was Slaine.

The blond had suffered enough, and had a clear non confrontational stance because of it. If he knew Inaho was being bullied –even at a level that by no means came close to measuring against his own– he might get uncomfortable, feeling torn between keeping a good relationship with people and wanting to help Inaho.

Yes, if Inaho was being mocked and now sent on moderately difficult errands...it was best to leave Slaine out of it, for his own sake.

He blinked, focusing back on the task and realizing the pile he effectively gathered was much, much smaller than it should. The brunet turned around to find Slaine had piled most of the things and put it in front of himself.

“...I hope you’re not considering carrying that to aid me.”

“I hope _you_ weren't thinking I was going to let you carry all this by yourself.”

“Let’s switch. It’s my task. It’s not right to have you carry so much.”

“Don’t worry. I’m used to lifting heavy stuff. In fact, one of the martian’s most benign way of bothering me was by forcing me to take piles like this from one end to the other.”

 _I must never tell him._ “All the more reason for you to stop having to do such things.”

“But I don’t _have_ to, do I? I _want_ to, so it’s different. Give it up, where are we going?”

***

Magbaredge was inordinately pleased when she saw the two boys come to her. Sure they arrived bickering over a kat maneuver, but it was light hearted and they stopped immediately when she got close to them.

 _Finally_.

_And Slaine doesn’t seem as winded by my presence now…_

She was satisfied enough that she decided to reveal the news to them, rather than inform the boys along with the rest of the crew.

“Since our journey has had to be extended–” Ah, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to bring up near Slaine. Thankfully the boy stiffened a little but did nothing else. “We will land to do some exterior maintenance soon. Our radars have picked a suitable spot...near a beach.”

The bridge crew had jumped in excitement at the thought of a beach...Kaizuka’s only reaction was to frown slightly.

“Hold on, don’t get your hopes up yet,” he said, and Magbaredge is slightly confused until she realized he’s talking to the blond. “No one has brought swimwear, and ruining the few clothing we have with salt water isn’t advisable, so I doubt we’ll be allowed to go to the sea.”

“It’s fine, just being on a beach is more than enough for me.”

Perhaps she had been satisfied too soon; even if they weren’t fighting, they were now looking at each other and ignoring her. The Captain coughed loudly to regain their attention. “While Kaizuka Junior is not wrong, we do, in fact, have swimwear. We’ve found a storage of body suits for diving. naturally, there isn’t enough for everyone on the crew but we’re planning a rotation system so most people should be able to have a go.”

Slaine beamed at the news, and Magbaredge found herself sucked in by his happiness momentarily before recalling herself and dismissing the two.

“Kaizuka Junior, one word before you go?”

The other leaves, and the brunet stays behind.

“It looks like you and Slaine have finally worked things out.”

“Yes. Does it bother you that my punishment wasn’t exactly one?”

“You were certainly bothered initially, and if with time my orders made it so you two mended things...I think it was highly effective.” She smiled triumphantly.

“You have some decent ideas, I’m glad that was one of them,” the boy said as a parting shot, and the captain had to refrain from going after him and hand over another punishment.

*

“Oh, that was fast,” Slaine voiced when Inaho exited the room.

“Hm, all she wanted to do was gloat at having been successful by telling me to help you.”

“Now that you mention it, maybe I should thank her for that?”

“There is no need.”

“I see. Then, I think I’ll return to my tasks, I don’t want to have anything pending that might stop me from having a turn at the sea.”

“Fair enough. Ah, but before that…” The brunet rummaged through his clothes and, to Slaine’s surprise, took out a familiar pendant from his pocket and extended it towards him. “Seylum asked me to return this.”

The blond groaned. “I told her to keep it for now.”

“She said it was special to you.”

“...it’s the last memento I have of my father.”

“...then you should definitely have it back.”

“Not if it protects her.”

Slaine expected Inaho to refute the claim that an object could do such a thing. Instead, the younger boy stared at him for a few seconds and retracted the pendant. “...I see,” he said and, to Slaine’s horror, rather than put it back in his pocket, began putting it around his neck.

“W-what do you think you’re doing?!”

“I don’t want to tell Seylum I was unsuccessful, so if you refuse to take it back, I’ll keep it.”

“Oh, nonono _no_. That’s mine. Give it here!” Without waiting for a reply, Slaine surged forward and removed the pendant from the other’s neck. “Stupid Orange,” he spits out without venom, annoyed Inaho got him to take it.

Inaho smiles, but before he can reply, Marito walks by, going to Magbaredge. The older man saw them and mouthed ‘protection’ before entering the room.

“Hm,” Inaho said, looking at where Marito had just disappeared from view. “If he’d walked by a minute earlier, he’d have thought you were about to–”

“ _Don’t even say it!_ ”

***

Glumly, Calm sat in the sand and watched the girls currently allowed on the sea.

Sure the swimwear was extremely tight...but it covered the whole body. It was so unfair; pretty girls and beaches should mean sexy bikinis.

“God, you’re so pathetic.” He heard Inko’s voice behind him, and the girl came up to join him. “Your thoughts are obvious and ridiculous.”

“Shut up,” he snapped back half heartedly. His friend opened her mouth to say something else, but something caught her attention and she looked away.

Following her gaze, Calm saw Inaho and Slaine coming off the Deucalion for the first time since they landed. Both are too far off to be able to make out their words, but the glee in Slaine as he touches the sand with his bare feet is unmistakable. Inaho, Calm notices, doesn’t pry his eyes away from the other, ignoring the view and everything else.

“Hum...I wonder…” He accidentally said out loud.

“What is it?” This time, it’s Nina who asked, sitting down next to Inko. In the distance, Inaho and Slaine walk towards the sea, both wearing swimwear.

“Just...don’t you guys think Inaho has been...err...acting different around Slaine?”

Inko frowned. “Different how?”

“Well, the way he bickers and never leaves him alone and hangs to his every word. He wasn’t like that when he became friends with us.”

“...what’s your point Calm?”

“Look, I...I think Inaho has a crush on Slaine.”

*

Calm’s words were met with stunned silence.

Inko’s first instinct is to laugh it off. Ridiculous, surely not–

But Inaho’s actions and reactions to Slaine had been weird…

For a moment, panic sets in and she wants to fervently deny it all, because if Inaho likes Slaine, she will never have a chance…

She freezes. _Wait, if he likes Slaine then he’s into boys, and if he’s into boys I was never an option to begin with…_

That realization is weirdly comforting.

If she were true to herself, then she never had a chance; she had been close to Inaho when he had no other girls but herself and Nina. If she hadn’t gotten him interested in her then, now that there were even beautiful martian princesses around, he would never suddenly begin to look at her for sure.

But...but if to begin with he’d been only interested in boys...then Inko could admit defeat with her head held high, because it wouldn't have been her looks or personality that weren’t good enough for him, it was her gender, something outside her control.

That petty reason, along with her honest wish to see Inaho happy…

...Inko was now cheering wholeheartedly for him to succeed with the blond.

*

Calm honestly wanted Inaho to be happy. He did.

And if that happiness happened to be with another boy, and said boy was a hit with the ladies...that would mean more ladies available for him…

...Calm was now cheering wholeheartedly for Inaho to succeed with the blond.

*

Nina, of course, wished for nothing more than for her friends to be happy.

And if that happiness happened to be Inaho with another boy, that might mean Inko would slowly stop going after him, and maybe in the future she might even look to Nina…

...Nina was now cheering wholeheartedly for Inaho to succeed with the blond.

*

A tacit agreement to put them together was born.

*

Asseylum found her friends sitting on the sand, mesmerized by something.

“Calm, Inko, Nina? Are you all looking at the sea? It’s so beautiful isn't it?”

They jolted as if they hadn’t noticed Asseylum approach and turned to look at her. Beside the princess, Eddelrittuo is looking disgusted at the sand at her feet.

“R-riiiiight, the sea,” Calm said with a laugh. Inko, looking at the distance, narrowed her eyes.

“God, what is that idiot doing, sitting down on the sand like that? Why doesn’t he go to the water with Slaine?”

“Inaho has never had much interest in water, Inko,” Nina supplied.

“Well, but he should be interested in _something else_ right now. Ugh, we need to get him in there.”

“Maybe we could ask Slaine to drag him into the water? I heard he tends to beat him in fights,” Calm suggested.

“But how are we going to convince Slaine to drag him there?” Nina wondered.

The three quieted for a moment, thinking, and then, in unison, turned to Asseylum.

***

 _The terrans aren’t subtle._ Eddelrittuo might have been young, but as a maid she had had her share of gossip. She recognized their looks and snickering, and immediately understood what they wanted to happen between the blond and brunet.

Eddelrittuo didn’t care for anything other than her mistress to be happy.

But…if Inaho and Slaine found happiness in each other, that might mean they would be too distracted and thus would stop bothering her Highness with their unworthy presence...

...Eddelrittuo was now cheering wholeheartedly for Inaho to succeed with the blond.

*

Inaho made sure to observe the Deucalion. To both test the thrusters in a stable environment, as well as verify the state of it’s bottom half, they were keeping aldnoah on, and the ship floating a few meters off the ground.

It wasn’t terribly interesting, but he wanted to look at something that wasn’t Slaine.

The blond had been too happy ever since the news about the beach, and actually arriving on it had only increased his delight. Inaho was finding himself too immersed in looking at him and only him.

Changing into the skin tight bodysuits hadn’t helped…

Inaho had a suspicion this wasn’t just friendly interest because Slaine was different, but–

As if called by his constant thoughts, Slaine walked back to his side.

“Hum...Inaho...err…” His hesitation is clear, and he quickly glanced to something in the distance. Following the gaze, Inaho sees his friends and Asseylum avidly watching them. He sighed.

“Did my friends ask you to throw me in the water?” They had tried it once, a year ago, and failed.

“W-well, not exactly…”

“Ah, let me rephrase: did my friends tell Seylum to ask you to throw me in the water?”

“...yes.”

“And you would never refuse anything from her,” he stated, feeling annoyed for some reason.

“Err….that’s the thing...that doesn't really matter because I felt like doing it anyway. They didn’t have to get her to ask me. Unless you really don’t want it?”

Inaho hoped his smile was clear enough for the other to see. “My opinion doesn’t matter, since you won’t manage it regardless.”

Slaine blinked, then–

***

Like most of the people around the beach, Inaho’s friends stared at the friendly tussle going on.

“...I don't know if the heat is making me see things, but is Inaho…”

“Yup, he’s smiling.”

“Wow.”

They continued to watch.

Inko clicked her tongue in disappointment at the outcome. “Oh, c’mon, forcing him to walk there with his hands behind his back? How boring. Slaine should carry him.”

“Preferably bridal style,” Eddelrittuo said under her breath. The others nodded in agreement.

Asseylum looked at the four in confusion, but decided whatever it was they were so concentrated on, it was a good thing since even Eddelrittuo has joined the fun.

“I’m going to look around,” she said, and the maid immediately whipped around to look at her.

“I’ll go with you!”

“Are you sure? You said you didn't like the feel of the sand, and I’m thinking of checking out that way.” Asseylum pointed to the stretch of pure sand she wanted to go towards.

“...oh. T-that doesn’t matter! I’ll follow you anywhere your Highness!” Eddelrittuo assured her. “But...it’s quite sunny here, maybe we should take some refreshments at least?”

“Alright. I’ll go first so I can appreciate the view, and I’ll wait for you at that wall of rocks at the end.”

Eddelrittuo squinted and, seeing the rocks she meant weren’t so far away, agreed to it.

Meanwhile, Inaho’s friends cheered as Slaine swooped Inaho up and threw him as far as he could into the sea.

***

The water was as cold as Inaho had feared it would be. Still, he didn’t immediately resurface, deciding it was best to stay underwater as long as he could to let his body get used to the temperature.

Finally, he went up to draw a breath and found Slaine coming towards him, looking worried. It dawned on him Slaine was probably not aware he could swim.

“It’s alright,” he said, standing up to show it to the blond. “This area is shallow enough that I can stand up on. Even if I couldn’t swim, I wouldn’t drown.”

“O-oh, thank goodness. I mean, I could see where I was throwing you wasn’t very deep but when you didn’t come up I wondered…”

“I apologize.”

“It’s not your fault. I should have asked before throwing you.”

“Hm, if that’s so…” Inaho went under again, only this time to pull at the blond’s leg so he’d fall.

When Slaine resurfaced he grinning brilliantly. “This feels so good. It’s been so long since I’ve– well...I suppose it hasn't been that long, given I fell to the sea when you shot me down.”

“I don’t think that counts, the circumstances were too averse for you to have enjoyed it.”

Slaine pushed back his wet hair from his eyes and Inaho found himself following the water droplets down his throat with too much intensity. “And speaking about that, you seemed to know how to swim,” he said to distract himself.

“Hm? Oh right, I did learn how to swim but obviously after going to Mars I had no practice, so actually when the skycarrier fell I nearly didn’t make it because I had a hard time kicking my feet correctly.”

“If you hadn’t resurfaced on your own, I’d have gotten a hold of you anyway, like I did when you sank under. But do you want to practice? I can hold you hands while you try out kicking.”

“Would you? But won’t that–”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

 _Definately no trouble at all,_ he thought when their hands were clasped together.

***

Rayet looked out to the sea. She had worried being alone would result in thinking about things she’d rather not, but the total lack of anyone mentioning the martian princess helped.

Besides, the setting was too pleasant; she’d gone off from the Deucalion until she stopped at a rock wall. On the other side of it there turned out to be a natural pool. It was a nice, peaceful–

“Oh, Rayet!”

She swore under her breath as the last person she wanted to see ran to her, so oblivious she hadn’t realized her presence was unwelcome.

“What are you doing here?” she asked brusquely, not feeling patient enough to be civil.

But Asseylum didn’t notice, and, beaming, climbed up the rock wall with the inherent difficulty of one too sheltered. “I wanted to look around,” she explained, struggling despite how easy going up was.

Rayet pretended to not see the silent signals for help the blonde was giving out. Finally, Asseylum managed the easy climb on her own, and gasped when she saw the other side of the wall.

“Oh, is that what people call a ‘pool’? It’s so pretty!”

“Whatever. Why aren’t you with the crowd?”

“Like I said, I wanted to look around. I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

 _The people currently being screwed by your existence receive you with open arms and the first opportunity you get you run off alone? Don’t you get how lucky you are, or how important?_ Rayet clenched her hands tightly and said nothing, feeling her blood pounding in her ears.

Still interested in the water, Asseylum motioned as if to get down–

–she slipped, and tumbled down into the pool.

Surprised, Rayet stood up and looked down at the girl. The water was still, no difficulty at all to swim out of…

...yet the princess seemed to be struggling.

 _She can’t swim._ Rayet realized. _If I don’t help her, she’ll die without my needing to do anything..._

Asseylum flailed desperately and called out to her. Rayet did nothing but watch until, finally, the blonde sank…

***

“I guess I wasn’t so badly off after all…” Slaine said as they got out of the water.

“Yes, you–” Inaho began but stopped when he noticed someone catch Slaine’s attention; Eddelrittuo, trying to carry more stuff than she clearly was able.

“Are you taking those to Her Highness? I could help you if you want,” the blond proposed when they reached her.

“I’m fine! Just...continue to keep that rude terran away from her!”

“Inaho has never dealt with someone of such importance before, I’m trying to set him straight on his manners.”

Inaho supposed it was some form of progress if Slaine wasn’t simply agreeing with her and shaking his head at him.

An alarm sounded, and people began screaming in panic.

Inaho turned around to look at the Deucalion and found that the ship was shaking. People hurriedly ran from under it and narrowly escaped getting crushed as the ship crashed down, lifting a cloud of sand.

“This is strange,” Inaho said, coughing slightly. “It was levitating through aldnoah, why–”

Slaine caught on just before he did, and whirled around to Eddelrittuo. “ _Where is she?!_ ”

Nervous, the girl pointed towards some rocks in the distance. Slaine got ready to run–

“Wait,” Inaho said, and was mildly surprised at the fact Slaine did.

“There’s no time! She must have–”

“I understand. Which is why I need _you_ to go inside the Deucalion and grab a first aid kit and a defibrillator. You’re much faster than I, it’ll be faster for you to do this while I go and search for her.”

Slaine only hesitated for another second before nodding and going along with it.

***

Regret settled in immediately after the girl finally went down without resurfacing.

Rayet hadn’t really done anything...but even so she had, in a way, aided Asseylum’s murder, again.

She was martian and, just like every martian scum, had easily killed someone…

Horror hit her and she jumped inside the pool, and dragged out the princess.

She checked for a heartbeat; nothing.

And then someone called her name.

***

Inaho wasn’t suited for this sort of thing; running was a thing a kat pilot wasn't expected to normally need. Still, he had enough stamina, so even if he was panting, he reached the rocks quickly.

He climbed them just in time to see Rayet removing Asseylum’s unconscious figure from the pool. He called out to the ginger to signal his presence and began climbing down towards them.

 _There was no one else on the beach in front of me. So Rayet must have been beyond this place and came back. No...it’s been a few minutes since Seylum lost consciousness, Rayet wouldn’t have known she was inside the water unless she’d seen her go under. But that would mean she_ –

He reached the girls. Rayet was breathing hard, pupils too dilated and she tensed when the brunet got near.

Inaho heard a horrified gasp as Eddelrittuo finally caught up and saw the scene. He ignored her, placing his ear next to her mouth and nose. No air.

He moved her on her back and began doing chest compressions, concentrating on counting.

As he was finishing, Slaine, followed by Captain Magbaredge, arrived. He had no time to spare talking to them, so he continued.

From the corner of his eye, he caught the older woman reaching out to him, but Slaine stopped her.

He finished but she was still not breathing, so he performed mouth to mouth.There was absolute silenced as he breathed in, then began doing more compressions–

–Asseylum coughed, and turned herself sideways to cough out water.

There were gasps all around and suddenly Slaine was by her side, helping the princess sit up.

“Your Highness, thank goodness. How are you feeling, are you okay, do you need anything?”

“I…” she replied faintly.

“What do you last recall?” Inaho asked, wanting to gauge if there was any blatant damage.

She frowned, “I...slipped and fell and…” she glanced at Rayet for a moment. “And that’s it.”

“I see. When I reached you, Rayet had just pulled you out of the water.”

“Is that so?” She smiled at the red haired girl. “Thank you.”

“Did you seriously suffer some brain damage or were you like that to begin with?” Rayet snarled back. “Did you forget you kept yelling for me to help you and I stood there doing nothing?”

“ _You did what?!_ ” Slaine stood up and tried to go to her, but Inaho hastily did the same and grabbed his arm.

“Why did you do that?” Magbaredge asked.

“Why? Because I hate her! It’s not fair, she gets everything she wants even though it’s her fault everyone is suffering–”

“ _Her_ fault?” Slaine repeated incredulously, trying to shake off Inaho’s hold. “People are dying because someone tried to kill her.”

“Nothing would have happened if she hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place!”

“Oh yes, because people willing to kill their own liege to start a war would definately give up simply because her Highness didn’t land on Earth,” Slaine retorted, tone dripping with sarcasm before going back to anger. “This is the fault of those who want her dead, and the pathetic murderers that agreed to carry out their orders!”

“You don’t know anything, don't you _dare_ speak of my father like that!”

There was a moment of stunned speechlessness.

“That implies your father was also in on the plot,” Inaho finally said. “And given all the information I have, I believe he and you must be the ones that let out that missile. You said your father had been murdered by a martian, and you have acted overly angry at them, what happened?”

“That’s right, we were supposed to kill this girl and failed. But even though they thought we had succeeded...the martians overseeing the operation murdered him and my family to keep them quiet.”

Slaine let out a twisted laugh. “He got nothing more than what scum deserves.”

Rayet snapped, and rushed at him. Inaho had no intention of letting her harm Slaine, and freed his arm.

The girl clearly had practice fighting...but hers was like Inaho’s skill; learned in a controlled environment. Slaine had been trained more brutally.

 _He has been holding back when fighting me_ , Inaho realized as within a minute, Slaine tripped Rayet and shoved her face first, hard, into the ground. He turned her around –and they could see her nose was bleeding– and readied his hand for a punch–

“Slaine, stop it!” Asseylum screeched and wrapped herself around his arm.

“She tried to kill you! Twice!”

She ignored his argument. “What’s _wrong_ with you? You aren’t like this, Slaine! How could you?”

 _Is she serious?_ Inaho stepped forward. “I would think people trying to kill those important to him isn’t an usual occurrence. Don’t tell him off for that.”

“He’s beating her up! He can’t do that! Slaine, that is a horrible–”

Seeing Slaine look hurt, Inaho interrupted again. “Not as horrible as ruining the lives of millions of people as Rayet has helped do, yet you don’t seem to be bothered about that.”

Asseylum choked, looking troubled. “I...that is…”

“Stop it,” Slaine said quietly, and Inaho realized it was aimed at him.

Before any of them could say something else, Rayet scrambled from under Slaine and crawled away from him, nose still bleeding freely, before she spoke. “I don't get it, why aren't you angry at me?”

Asseylum looked at her, and teary eyed, held out her hands pleadingly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I must have hurt you so–”

“Are you out of your mind?! Why are you like this? You should be like Slaine, you should...you should…” she looked like she was about to cry too.

Free again, it looked like Slaine was getting ready to have another go, so Inaho signalled to Magbaredge, who stepped between them.

“Enough of this. Asseylum, go to Dr. Yagarai with Eddelrittuo for an in depth check up. As for you.” She turned to Rayet. “You are coming with me, and quietly.”

“You can’t possibly trust–” Slaine began, but Magbaredge cut him off.

“I don’t, which is why…” She removed her gun from her belt and pointed it at Rayet. “I’ll be walking with this pointed at your back at all times, attempt anything and I will shoot.” Asseylum looked scandalized and ready to complain, so Magbaredge turned to her. “Don’t say anything. You are not my liege. In my ship, _you_ answer to _me_ , and until we verify you are alright, I will disconsider anything you say. If you want to avoid more trouble, _go_ already.”

Still Asseylum hesitated, this time looking worriedly at Slaine. “But what if he–”

Inaho’s patience was thinning. “Let’s strike a deal, Seylum. Slaine and I will stay behind and I will assure he only leaves here when Rayet is too far away. But under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You will never speak of this to him again, unless it’s to thank him for getting angry for your sake.”

“...you shouldn’t have spoken like that to her.” Slaine said half heartedly, slumped against a rock, when everyone had left.

“She can’t forgive Rayet while being angry at you for it.”

“It’s because she’s so kind. She’s too good, so she forgives harm to herself but not to others. She must think I’m such a disappointment…”

“Then she’s a fool. Anyone would have reacted like you if their loved ones had been harmed.”

“She’s too good for violence,” Slaine replied, but his shoulders sag with visible relief at the words.

_Was he worried I’d agree with her?_

“To think I briefly befriended the culprit behind her assassination–”

“No one knew, there is no fault in it. And she isn’t the culprit.”

“What?”

“She’s merely the peon of those truly behind this plot, used to gain what they wanted. Ultimately, even if Rayet and her family didn’t exist, things would still have the same result. You must realize that.”

“That doesn't absolve her!”

“No, but it lessens your hatred somewhat, doesn’t it?”

“...so you also think my reaction is wrong…”

 _So, he truly is worried about my opinion._ “I don't think it’s wrong, but it’s detrimental to you. Nothing will be gained from it, but you may be sanctioned by Magbaredge if you harm Rayet without authorization, and Asseylum isn’t capable of understanding it. I know it’s hard, but if she has forgiven Rayet, you should try to not attack her anymore, even if you can no longer stand her.”

“...I suppose.” Slaine ground out reluctantly. Inaho thought the answer was sufficient, and sat beside him, finally relaxing.

“I think enough time has passed that we can head back,” Inaho pointed out.

“...I don’t really feel like going back yet.”

“Good, me neither.”

***

“Slaine...he really surprised me...he shouldn't have hurt her, I hope Rayet is alright…” Asseylum said quietly, wringing her hands.

Eddelrittuo said nothing. She didn’t want to contradict her mistress but…

...but it was a relief knowing her Highness had someone so ready to protect her…

...Slaine had been really really cool, acting so angry on her behalf.

***

They stayed a minute saying nothing, before Slaine spoke up again. “I have to thank you twice.”

“I imagined you would be grateful for one thing, but two?”

“When Rayet came at me, you let go of my arm.”

“I didn't want you doing something you might regret later, but self defense is another matter.”

“Thank you anyway. And the other thing...I think you probably know. Thank you for saving her life.”

“Hm, I didn’t do it as a favor.”

“I know, you did it because you're a good person. Still, thank you. And I’m glad you were there to find her, I wouldn't have been able to do...that.”

“CPR?” Inaho asked, and Slaine nodded, “I don't think you’re the type to hesitate from rescuing Seylum out of reluctance to touch her, so is it that you don’t know how to do it?”

“Yes. I was never given medical training. I mean, I only learned how to treat wounds to help myself–”

Inaho didn't want to think about that. “Would you like to learn CPR?”

“I’d like to, yes.”

The brunet frowned, becoming aware that was a foolish thing to say. “But the Deucalion doesn't have any dummy that would serve for practice. I apologize for suggesting it before considering that.”

“O-oh, it’s fine. Pity then.”

Inaho looked at Slaine next to him; the blond momentarily bit his lip in disappointment before sighing.

His lower lip was now redder…

“If you really want to learn, I could just show it to you directly.”

He said it without thinking; there was no way Slaine would accept such a thing.

*

“If you really want to learn, I could just show it to you directly.”

Slaine blinked as his brain processed how they’d practice without a dummy. And then he understood.

_We’d have to kiss._

“Yes,” he said, and nearly flinched at how quickly the answer came out.

Inaho stared at him for a moment. “You do understand that our lips would have to touch?”

“Y-yeah so?”

“...nothing. It’s just that you seem uncomfortable with an action that might look–”

“W-well it’s for a good cause, and it’s not really a kiss. I mean, it doesn’t count. It would be childish to think it does,” Despite saying that, Slaine could feel himself coloring.

“...I agree. Lie down on the ground.” Slaine did as told. “After verifying the person is indeed not breathing, put them on their back and place the heel of your hand on their chest, like so–”

Slaine hoped Inaho assumed his accelerated heartbeat was due to the earlier adrenaline rush.

“Press down around two inches, and avoid pressing down on the ribs. Do thirty chest compressions, but wait for the chest to rise in between. If the person doesn’t start breathing…”

 _This might have been a mistake_ , Slaine thought, heart pounding faster as Inaho moved closer and put a hand on his head.

“Tilt their head back, lift the chin, close off their nostrils and...breathe in…”

Thinking suddenly become hard.

*

 _This was a mistake,_ Inaho thought. He had just done CPR to Asseylum and it hadn’t made him feel...so good…

He doubted it was just that he’d been worried before. The tingling in his scalp, his heartbeat, and the difficulty in breathing at all…

...he’d been suspicious of it, but now he was sure; he was interested in men, and his close contact with Slaine had had him reacting to the boy. This would lead to complications...

It dawned on him his breath had run out a few seconds ago and he was still in contact with the blond, so he hastily withdrew. Slaine wasn’t complaining so he mustn’t have noticed.

The older boy sat up, looking strangely dazed.

“Are you alright?” he asked worriedly, trying to refrain from bringing his hand to his mouth.

“Hm? O-oh, I’m fine. I was just...uh...concentrating on remembering all that.” His lips looked slightly swollen.

 _Did I press down too hard? He looks good like_ – he stopped his own train of thought, feeling guilty.

“Uh...Inaho?” Slaine’s voice is small and almost a squeak. “J-just to make sure I got it all...can I...try it on you?”

 _Yes, please._ “...I don’t see why not,” he managed to reply.

*

“...I don’t see why not.”

Slaine felt slightly guilty at taking advantage of his kindness, but that still didn’t stop him from a little too eagerly pushing Inaho down.

Slaine had never kissed anyone before, and CPR wasn’t really the same yet his body saw no distinction and had reacted too positively to the brunet’s mouth on his.

He supposed it wasn’t too surprising; he was interested in men, after all, and the close contact with Inaho had him reacting to the boy. This would lead to complications…

It dawned on him his hand had been roving a little too much over Inaho’s chest and stomach ‘to check where the ribs were’ and hastily stilled them in the correct place.

“So, two inches, thirty times, wait for the chest to rise completely between pushes,” he listed. Inaho took a little too long to nod, looking strangely distracted. “And if the person doesn’t start breathing…”

He tilted the brunet’s head back, plugged his nose and…

...it took a lot of effort to remember what needed to go into Inaho’s mouth was his breath and not his tongue.

*

 _This was definitely a mistake,_ they both thought as they went back, not looking the other in the eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Apologies for it being late. Not sure if I'll manage to write the next one by sunday again, but hopefully I can try for a monday release
> 
> -I wonder how many read the meaning of the title and then thought they were getting trolled when they reached Asseylum's CPR, lol
> 
> -Speaking of her, S2 does make, to me, her forgiveness of Rayet hypocrital. She didn't forgive Slaine for murdering thousands (understandable) yet had no issue with Rayet starting the whole war to begin with.
> 
> -And from what i saw of the characters, Slaine going nuts because of Asseylum, and her angry at him for daring to hurt her almost murderer felt like in character.
> 
> -Honestly, I wanted to remove Rayet's murder attempt and just have her admit to everything without doing anything, but Inaho needed to CPR asseylum for the sake of s2 plot so...


	12. Cognomen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cognomen: _surname_

They trudged back to the Deucalion and –to Slaine’s relief– found they weren’t the last ones. After the earlier scare with the ship’s aldnoah going down, Magbaredge had avoided widespread panic by allowing people to relax at the beach longer than had been programmed while some verified the safety of things.

Walking inside, the first thing Slaine went after was finding out about Asseylum’s health and Rayet’s punishment.

Inaho tried to concentrate on both issues as much as the blond clearly was, if only because it diverted his attention from the feel of Slaine’s lips–

No, he shouldn’t dwell on it; it was a one time thing…

_Pity Slaine is such a fast learner, else he might have needed more practice_ _–_

“Is everything alright?” Slaine’s voice broke through his reverie.

“Yes. Why?”

“You frowned for a second.”

“I was just thinking back of a complicated problem.”

“Oh? Anything I can help with?”

Thankfully, before Inaho would be forced to answer, they arrived at the entrance to the medic bay. Eddelrittuo was at the door.

“Is her Highness alright?” The blond ask immediately.

Inaho half expected the maid to refuse to tell him, under the belief it wasn’t his business. To his slight surprise, the young girl looked at Slaine as if studying his face before averting her eyes in an annoyed huff and replying, “The doctor said her Highness doesn’t seem to have had any damage, but told her to rest, which she’s doing now. So you can’t enter!”

“Of course not, I wouldn’t want to disturb her. Thank you, it’s a relief knowing her Highness will be okay.” For a moment Slaine’s shoulder visibly sagged as he let out a worried breath he’d been holding. But then his expression soured, and when he spoke again, his voice was harsh. “What about... _her_?”

_He was her friend and now he can’t even speak Rayet’s name...truly his judgement revolves around Seylum. The very fact he agreed to befriend me is proof he honestly believes I have no intention to use her…_

It also made him wonder if the fact he doesn’t treat Seylum with deference has impacted on Slaine’s esteem…

“I don’t know,” Eddelrittuo said. Inaho wasn’t very good at reading subtle emotions, so he wasn’t sure what she was thinking as she looked at Slaine, but it certainly didn’t seem like her usual disdain. “The Captain took her away and I’ve been keeping an eye on the princess ever since…”

The blond’s lips curled downward, and his face hardened. “I’ll go after Captain Magbaredge and ensure that girl is no longer a threat,” he vowed. “I’ll come back to tell you her fate and, if it seems like her Highness is still in peril, I’ll come back to help you guard her.”

“Thank you,” the maid said with open sincerity as they left her.

“What do you think Captain Magbaredge did to her?”

“She probably interrogated Rayet to verify how much of a threat she is, and the likely outcome is that Rayet is currently locked away.”

“I don’t like this. I was almost immediately given free roam of this place–”

“The situation is different, Rayet has shown she’s capable of hurting others even when she’s part of the crew, and for no reason.”

“But she has also been integral to everyone’s survival, or so I heard. They might give her another chance in light of that help.”

“You also helped save us before attempting to shoot me. You were only released because I vouched for you.”

Slaine stopped his angry march momentarily to look at Inaho nonplussed. “Did you? I thought you only went along with the decision.”

“No. I told Magbaredge I felt you could be trusted so long as we remained by Asseylum’s side.”

“So you didn’t just help bringing me here, you also gave me my freedom. Thank you.” The blond gave Inaho a radiant smile, but it quickly left his face and he went back to walking  hurriedly, frowning. “But Her Highness is too good; I’m sure she’ll be willing to vouch for her too.”

“...I–” Inaho began, then stopped.

“What is it?”

“You won’t like what I have to say.”

“I’m too busy worrying and being angry at that girl to have any to spare for you.”

“...I would hope that Captain Magbaredge is wise enough to realize there is a key difference in my avowal and Seylum’s.”

He didn’t know why he actually said it. Lately he’d been less tolerant when it came Slaine’s infatuation with her. The fact that this had begun around the same time his new emotions towards Slaine’s touch had didn’t escape him, and that was worrying.

Slaine was quiet for a moment before chuckling. “You’re right, both are very different. Asseylum is too kind and...well...naive for her own sake, whereas you tend to base important opinions and decisions on logic. In that case, it makes sense to listen to your opinion on someone rather than hers. Hopefully Captain Magbaredge will think the same.”

She did, as they soon found out. Captain Magbaredge had ordered the girl to be locked in the closest thing they had to a cell and with no set date of release decided on.

“The princess did beg the Captain to not do anything but she’s clearly not seeing the big picture,” Mizusaki said with a huff.  

Inaho realized she was to Magbaredge what Eddelrittuo was to Asseylum, in the sense of protectiveness and demand for respect they demanded for their superiors. The short haired woman doubtlessly had felt offended on the Captain’s behalf by Asseylum’s refusal to accept her decision, just like she had when Inaho did the same.

“She thinks herself getting hurt means nothing,” Slaine tried defending, but Mizusaki responded with an indignant scoff.

“Clearly. Thankfully I don’t think she’s used to being argued with, so she gave up quickly when Captain Magbaredge retorted with actual arguments.”

Inaho wondered if perhaps Rayet’s initial refusal to accept Magbaredge’s authority had made this seem like sweet revenge to Mizusaki, and Asseylum attempting to stop the punishment by not accepting the captain’s decision had been a double irritation for her.

“It’s because you’re harsh like this that you can’t get a date,” Magbaredge finally intervenes with a sigh, and then turned to the boys. “I think judgment for Ms. Areash’s crime should be done by those better suited for such. I feel letting her loose is dangerous, but Dr. Yagarai believes her attempted murder of Asseylum was due to high stress levels from her guilt and needing to keep such a secret, and so she shouldn't be a threat any longer.”

Slaine opened his mouth as if to speak, but his obedience – _no, fear_ – of authority stopped him, and Magbaredge continued. “Despite his professional opinion, as the one in charge I cannot afford to risk freeing her now, not when we are so far away from any help. So until further notice I will leave her on lock down, though this doesn’t mean she will remain there for the rest of the journey. This isn’t up for discussion, so unless you two came here to speak about something else, you may leave.”

Inaho could see she was dismissing them and, finding he had nothing else to say, obeyed.

“To think she might actually free her at some point, I can’t believe this,” Slaine complained when they were out of earshot.

“Hm.”

“What? Don’t you think that would be stupid?”

Inaho knew his opinion wouldn’t be welcome but he felt Slaine would probably catch on quick if he lied. “I think with time to cool down, Rayet will no longer be a threat and could be freed again.”

“You _do_? Why? She tried to kill Princess Asseylum!”

Inaho had to tread carefully now, as a misunderstanding might have Slaine ending their friendship without a second thought. “I care about Asseylum. And her near death worried me. However, if the victim herself absolves Rayet, we cannot persecute her for that. We would be going against Seylum’s wishes.”

Slaine clicked his tongue in annoyance but said nothing. Considering that a good sign, Inaho ploughed on. “She should receive some sort of trial for helping start this war, but I agree with the Captain that that should be done by other people. Meanwhile, if Dr. Yagarai assures she isn’t a danger any longer, I believe she should be freed after some time to reflect on her crimes.”

“...I still think it’s dangerous,” Slaine grumbled, and Inaho was relieved the blond didn’t get angry at him.”

The walked a little in silence before reaching a fork in the corridor and the brunet stopped. “Where do you plan on going now?”

“I’m going to report back to Eddelrittuo like I promised, you?”

“The sand and salt in my swimwear feel uncomfortable. I think I’ll just go ahead and shower.” Their delay in doing so had also dirtied the floor with water and sand, but Inaho refrained from mentioning it, as he could see Slaine trying to clean it all up if he knew.

“Oh, okay then. I’ll go to Eddelrittuo first,” Slaine said, then hesitated “Huh...a-about later today. I-I mean maybe you’ve forgotten with all that’s happened but we–”

“–we had agreed to meet. No, I haven’t forgotten,” Inaho said and almost smiled; he had assumed Slaine would forget, given his worry for Seylum.

“Oh, that’s good. I don’t know how your schedule got with this beach thing but, hum, is that still…”

“Yes, I see no reason to cancel it.” Inaho’s lips were quirking up now. “I’ll come search for you when I can. Is there anything specific you want to do?”

“Uh...not really...you?”

“Considering the day has been very stressful, I believe some physical exercising might help. We can fight each other again.”

“Or you could finally do some training of your own.”

“If I think you’ve calmed down enough you don’t need to vent...perhaps.”

“So if I behave my reward is you finally straining to do something? Well, maybe that’s not too bad.”

They fell silent, smiling at each other.

Then both remembered they had things to do and hastily went their separate ways.

***

“How is morale?” Magbaredge asked her second in command when they were alone.

“People are worried. We haven’t yet revealed what the malfunctioning was so they are unsure of how safe things truly are,” Mizusaki promptly replied but her tone was sulky. The Captain picked up on it.

“Is something wrong?”

“...do you really think I’m such a harsh person?” The woman grumbled. Magbaredge blinked, not believing she had minded it.

“Well...you are a little…but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.” It was funny, how easily a compliment got Mizusaki’s mood up. Happy her friend was fine again, Magbaredge went back to business matters. “Now, as for the crew, we’ll have to tell them the truth, as it would be suspicious to have Ms. Areash on lockdown for too long for a minor misdemeanor.”

The other nodded in agreement, but asked. “What about her involvement in the assassination attempt?”

“We’ll avoid that for now. We don’t want to risk someone in the crew harboring understandable anger and attempting to kill her. Still...it will be bad if people worry at the fragility of aldnoah for the rest of the journey. Hum...we did manage to replenish our stock today, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we managed to catch a good number of fish, as well as more potable water thanks to those natural pools.”

“I see. I think we’ll host a celebration tonight. Nothing big, of course, but fancier than usual. We haven’t had time to sit down and be happy for our own survival, maybe something like that might help relax everyone again.”

“Brilliant thinking, Captain!”

***

There was another reason Inaho had wanted to go ahead to the baths without waiting for Slaine.

Making sure to turn the shower water as cold as possible, he closed his eyes and thought back to his interaction with Slaine in the beach

It had been a mistake.

Not just the feel of Slaine’s lips on his, but also his hand on his chest. And now that this had taken a secondary meaning for him, it dawned on him he had been after Slaine’s touch much earlier; when he held his hand to help him swim and–

No, it wasn’t just the touch; when he reflected on it, it dawned on Inaho he had also been looking forward to Slaine’s presence, Slaine’s smiling face, Slaine’s–

It had been a huge mistake.

It wasn’t the first time he was friendly with a male, nor the first time he touched one. In fact, he had even given Calm a peck on the lips when his friend had once suggested playing the spin the bottle game in an attempt to kiss a girl and of course it had landed on Inaho instead...

The fact he wasn’t after just...sexual things concerning Slaine, as well as his experience, made him realize his earlier assumption to liking boys had been incorrect. He wasn’t into boys, he now understood; he was into Slaine. There was even a sexuality for that.

Inaho sighed as he finished showering. He wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, Slaine was bisexual, so he stood a sliver of a chance. But Slaine had also said he had no interest in Inaho whatsoever…

_But he overreacts a lot, he might not have been serious…_

He dried himself, dressed and began leaving the bathroom.

_But if so, then when he said he had no romantic interest in Asseylum, that might not have been true…_

He would have to tread carefully from here on to not risk jeopardizing their friendship. Yes, first he would observe…

Deep in thought, he didn’t see the foot stuck out and tripped, but managed to regain his balance and not fall.

There were sighs of disappointment, and he turned to the side to see the supervisor and his friends around.

“Damn that was so close,” the ringleader complained.

“Did you truly just try to trip me?” Inaho asked, and the man squared himself, reading for a fight.

“Yeah, and?”

“...are you really that stupid?”

“What was that?”

The brunet disregarded the threatening tone and sighed. “Suppose I had fallen to the ground. I could have injured myself. Meaning I would no longer be able to fight as well as before. The Captain’s punishment would not be light.”

He didn’t wait for their reactions to the obvious and left.

***

Slaine was slightly glad Inaho had gone on without him, it gave him some space to think about his feelings.

He’d been attracted to men before, yes, but it had been a physical interest in their looks and physique. The way he kept wanting to be near Inaho, happy to hear his voice, even happier when he gave one of his rare smiles…

_Damn, I’m smitten._

Asking to be taught CPR had been a mistake. It would have been best if he hadn’t realized his own feelings, it just complicated things.

After all, Inaho had said he wasn't interested in men…

_But he also said his body responded why I accidently rubbed down there. Maybe I should accept helping him verify his sexuality_ _–_ _Wait, no! That would be taking advantage. I should just be grateful he isn’t the sort to be disgusted by my sexuality…and speaking of being grateful…_

In the confusion that had been the aftermath of Asseylum’s near drowning, Slaine had only briefly thanked Inaho for saving her. And now that he knew just how much the brunet had to do with his freedom when he came to the Deucalion, he had even more to thank him for.

Slaine sighed; no matter what, it seemed that Inaho was always helping him and Asseylum, he should show his gratitude somehow, words weren’t sufficient at this point.

_Maybe I’ll agree with testing his sexuality as a thank you_ _–_ _nonono that’s still taking advantage! Uh...but what else can I do? There’s nothing I can give him, since I came here with nothing but my name_ _–_

***

By the time Inaho managed to be free again to search for and find Slaine, something was clearly on the blond’s mind, and it was not the princess, as he looked slightly nervous but downcast.

“Did something happen?” Inaho asked as they walked towards the training area.

“Hum...well...since you left me earlier I realized something…”

Inaho doubted it could have anything to do with his new found feelings for him, so he didn’t feel apprehensive. “Yes?” he asked as he stopped walking so he could give the blond his full attention.

Slaine looked around at the empty corridors and stepped close to Inaho, almost in his personal space.

“I...err...Inaho, ever since I came here...no, from the moment we’ve met you’ve always been helping me and her Highness, and I feel like I haven’t thanked you–”

“No. Stop,” Inaho interrupted, not bothering to hide the slight distaste that managed to seep into his tone for once. ”We’ve been through this, I don’t–”

“No, we haven’t. You said you didn’t want me to be your friend just out of gratitude. And I can't offer my friendship now as that anyway since you already have that regardless.”

“I don't need anything as gratefulness. I did what I felt was best and what I wanted to do, and the results of all of those have been positive for me, so there’s no reason–”

“I know you didn’t do it for my sake. Still, you have done plenty of stuff that means a lot to me, and I wish I could repay you somehow...but I don’t really have anything to give you, so unless you have some suggestion on how I could do it...” he paused, waiting to see if Inaho would suggest sexual favors of some kind. To a mixture of relief and disappointment, he didn’t.

*

“...but I don’t really have anything to give you, so unless you have some suggestion on how I could do it...”

It was surprisingly easy not suggesting Slaine ‘help’ him verify what his body responded to. Not that he didn’t want to, but the thought of Slaine doing anything of the kind due to feeling indebted irked Inaho too much.

When the brunet said nothing, Slaine continued, sounding winded. “A-anyway, if there’s nothing you want from me–”

_Oh, there’s nothing I want out of gratitude. If you offered out attraction on the other hand..._

“–I...do have one thing I can give. It’s...insignificant, really insignificant, but maybe there’s some worth in that you are the first one I’ll have told it to, here.”

That piqued Inaho’s interest; Slaine had barely said anything about himself, so this could be his favorite food or color but it didn't matter; more knowledge on Slaine was always welcome.

“And...I hope you aren't too angry that I didn't mention it before…”

 _This is unexpected. Please don't be that he has a crush on Calm or Inko. What if it’s my sister?_ “...go on.”

“My name...that is...my full name is Slaine Troyard.”

*

Inaho’s face remained blank, and Slaine felt slightly panicked since that could mean a number of things. But knowing the brunet, it was probably just his total disinterest in the knowledge.

“Err...I mean...I guess you didn’t notice but I was keeping it a secret–”

“I noticed.”

“What?”

“You acted like you had been in Mars since birth, but truth is you only went there a few years back, correct?”

“H-how did you–”

“You talked about the sky and rain like you missed them. And you admitted to knowing how to swim. All those things imply you were on Earth for sufficient time to remember all of it and be taught how to swim, as martians certainly wouldn’t; not enough water for such. However, to go to Mars only a few years back, and in a way you felt was best to remain a secret...I surmised your father must have been a man of brilliance and resources, and took you both there himself. If so, your surname might be prominent, so you wanted to avoid having it known in case people recognized it.”

“...my father abandoned his work and all terrans to pursue his interest in Mars. I was scared terrans wouldn’t like hearing about him. A-and and I was taken here under suspicion, so I worried knowing my father was a race traitor would make things even harder for me…”

“I assume Seylum knows?”

“Yes, but she never calls me by it so I risked it.”

“It was a dangerous move on your part, but not without reason.”

“So, you’re not angry I kept that secret?”

“No, it was a reasonable move to make, and hasn't endangered anyone.”

“I’m glad,” Slaine said, visibly relieved. “Then...uh...I know it’s not much, but please accept the truth as my thank you–”

“Actually, I have a problem with that.”

He hadn't expected that at all, and was startled. “You do?”

“Yes. Quite honestly, this is very problematic for me. I can’t wipe my memory of this knowledge, yet having it now troubles me.”

“Oh.” Slaine felt his mood plummet, and ashamed he looked at his hands as he wrung them non stop. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see–  I can’t see how it troubles you, I’m really–”

Inaho’s hands reached out to pry Slaine’s apart, and he held them to stop him from starting again. “It troubles me because for something that you didn’t need to thank me for, you gave me something too valuable in return, and now I’m in _your_ debt.”

Surprised, Slaine looked up to find Inaho smiling slightly. He would have felt some alleviation if not for the fact he had a hard time believing Inaho’s words. “What do you mean, ‘too valuable’? It’s just my–”

“It’s your trust that I won’t punish you for keeping it quiet and lying, and trust that I won’t start thinking you as distrustful. It’s also, along with the pendant, the one thing you have of your family. It means a lot to me. So now, I’m the one that must do something for you in return.”

“That wasn’t my intention!”

“I had no intention of making you owe me either, yet my actions resulted in you feeling as much. It’s my turn now; is there anything you want?”

_Oh, there’s nothing I want out of gratitude. If you offered out attraction on the other hand..._

“N-nothing, there’s nothing I need,” Slaine managed to gasp out. Inaho was still holding his hands; he hoped the brunet didn’t notice.

“Are you sure? You can do whatever you want to me.”

There was a pause, and Slaine could feel himself blushing from his head to the tips of his toes. “ _Do you have any idea how that sounded?!”_ he nearly screeched, letting go of Inaho’s hands accidently.

He had expected Inaho to be unsure of what Slaine meant, but instead the brunet’s grin widens. “That was a very broad statement, it’s not my fault you immediately think back to sexual things.”

“Why do you think I–”

“Your reaction makes it obvious.”

“Just... _please_ ….consider your wording better.”

“Why? I meant what I said.”

“What if what I want to do is stab you or do….those things?”

“I wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t trust you to not harm me,” he paused and gave a nonchalant shrug. “And I don’t particularly mind doing those–”

“No!” _Don’t tempt me!_ “Look...let’s...call it even at that? I fully believe you mean to honor your words, and the trust in place in me to say them to begin with are enough. _Okay_?” His voice is a little desperate by the end but he doesn’t care.

“...do you really think that is enough or are you just trying to end this?”

“Both.”

“...alright then, I agree. Thank you, Slaine Troyard.”

Slaine nearly jolted; hearing his surname from Inaho after he had been using his first name so constantly shouldn't be making him react, much less so positively.

“I’m just glad you accept my thank you. Now, let’s please go train.”

***

Marito walked through the corridors sighing at the extra work this impromptu celebration was giving him. And he wouldn’t even be allowed to drink…

He heard a groan and stopped, traumatized.

But then he realized the sound was coming from the training area ahead and relaxed; surely it was just someone exercising. He continued moving…

“Hng, thats...a...little uncomfortable…” It was Kaizuka’s voice, panting.

“Shh, relax. It’s your first time so of course you aren’t used to it.”

Marito froze, too terrified to even move.

“You ready? I’m going to add a second one...”

“I’m not sure–” Inaho’s voice abruptly cut off and he grunted. “Hng. Take it off, I think this is too much.”

“You’re doing fine. I’m going to move them so that it’s better for you.”

Marito’s legs gave out and he needed to lean against the wall to not fall to the floor.

_Kill me, please kill me._

There is a stop in the conversation, and only Inaho pantring can be heard. Until–

“I think you’ve done brilliantly for your first time! So, are you ready?”

“...for?”

_What do you mean ‘for’? Isn’t it obvious he means his_ _–_

“Here, let’s remove these two. I think you can handle something much bigger now...”

A pause, then–

“I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“I’m the expert at this.”

_Sweet Jesus I did not need to know that._

“And I think you can handle it.”

_Just how big is his_ _–_

“Ready?”

Desperation gave Marito the necessary adrenaline to again move his limbs, and he ran away from there as fast as he could, forgetting to remind them of condoms.

*

“Did you hear that?”

“Yes, I guess someone must have been in a hurry. Anyway, how are you handling this bigger weight?”

“...I miss the two small ones.”

“They were too light. Try to lift this one once. When you do, I’ll hand you two smaller ones so you can flex with them.”

***

“Ugh, did you hear the way he spoke to us?”

“Yeah, stuck up little bastard. We should do something to pull him down from his high horse.”

“We can’t though. He’s right; we do anything and he’ll go screaming to the Captain.”

“...not if he doesn't know it’s us.”

“He’s annoying as hell but I don’t think there are more people actively mocking him in here, everyone is too dumbstruck for that.”

“We just have to make things seem like an accident. Like...that thing that’s going on tonight. What if someone _accidentally_ takes whatever cup he’s drinking out of and _accidentally_ puts a lot of alcohol in it?”

“...”

“...”

“...I...I think my dad brought some of this thing that doesn't really have a taste in juice…I think it’s vodka?”

“Perfect! Grab it. Imagine, Mr. Kaizuka drunk and making a fool of himself. It’ll be hilarious.”

***

“Why are you leaving the seat next to me vacant?” Inaho inquired when he noticed his friends blatantly not sitting beside him.

“Oh, you know, Slaine is closer to you so we thought it was better to leave that seat for him,” Inko replied, sounding strangely nervous.

“Hm.” It was a silly gesture, but Inaho liked it.

“Where is Slaine anyway?” Nina wondered.

Slaine Troyard, Inaho’s brain supplied. He hadn’t stopped thinking about the name and the importance of knowing it since he’d heard it. “He wanted to check on Seylum and Eddelrittuo one last time, and also hand Eddelrittuo some food.”

“That was nice of him, I hope he comes back soon.”

Me too, Inaho thought, and then an angry cry rang out.

Everyone in the cafeteria turned to see two people –two boys from the gang harassing him– yelling at each other. All attention was now on them.

Someone jostled Inaho. He turned to look and found yet another of his bullies there.

“Sorry,” the guy surprisingly said, before giving Inaho an awkward pat and moving to stop the two.

 _Ah, he apologized because he was too distracted to be annoying_. Inaho reflected, and went back to drinking his juice.

***

Slaine arrived at the cafeteria and was nonplussed to find Inaho absent.

“Hey everyone, where is–”

“Inaho?” Calm replied between mouthfuls. “He said he was feeling unwell and wanted to go throw some water on his face. I think saving Asseylum must have tired him, he suddenly got pretty drowsy.”

“None of you thought to go after him?” Slaine was slightly taken aback at such lack of care.

“We did but...we decided to finish eating first,” Inko said in a weird tone.

Slaine refrained from admonishing them. “Well, I’ll go after him, then,” he said and left.

*

Inaho’s friends were thrilled it had worked; now Slaine would get some alone time with Inaho, taking care of him.

*

Other men were frustrated; Inaho had drunk the whole thing and done nothing but leave.

***

Inaho wasn’t feeling well. He felt drowsy yet hot and his head felt wooly.

He couldn't think straight; thinking at all was hard.

Water, cold water should wake me up, he managed to think, and moved towards where he assumed the bathrooms were, but his vision was hazy…

_It must have been the juice. There was a strange taste to it. I assumed it was just the way they prepared it but…maybe the fruit was past its due date…_

He heard the sound of falling water.

_Ah, the showers…_

He followed the sound. Strangely, he had to go up a flight of stairs and open a door.

_I don’t recall...oh, this isn’t a bathroom, it’s the outside. It’s raining._

Rain. Slaine liked rain. Was Slaine here?

_I don’t think so, but rain is cold water. Cold water will wake me._

He stepped outside.

The rain drenched him yet his head didn’t get sharper.

 _Maybe I need to stay here awhile_. He walked forward randomly…

“ _Inaho?!”_ There was a panicked shout, and a hand gripped his wrist tightly, forcibly stalling his movement.

He turned to look at who it was. Even in his state, he recognized the person.

_So Slaine was here after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -EDIT: Ive seen many people here and on tumblr joke about Inaho is Slainesexual. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, but in case someone didnt know: when Inaho said "there was a sexuality for that" he was referring to 'demisexuality' which is "a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone". Just writing for added knowledge ^^ If you feel he doesnt fit that, its fine
> 
> -Yes, vodka on drinks wouldnt be tasteless, as Inaho proves. The guy who put it in there just didn't know, and Inaho is underage, i doubt he ever bothered to try drinking and thus wouldnt recognize the taste
> 
> -A round of applause for my beta, who had thrice the work because I was rushed a little. Some parts took long to write since i get writing one sentence and stopping to cringe.


	13. Dwaal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dwaal: (South African) _a state of befuddlement_

Inaho woke up to a throbbing headache and groaned. At the sound, Calm shifted on the bed above and began descending the stairs. The tread of his feet somehow made the pain worse.

“Headache?” Calm asked, but didn’t wait for Inaho to answer before handing him a cup of water and a pill. “This should make it better.”

“The fact you know what I’m feeling and have something prepared for it means you expected this. What happened?”

Calm’s answering whistle made him wince as he drank down the medicine. “What do you remember?” the blond asked.

 _That doesn’t bode well._ “I...let’s see...I recall us sitting down at that dinner. Then I felt weird and then…I don’t remember anything else.” It wasn’t a lie; as he tried to think back, all his brain supplied were disjointed, fuzzy images and feelings of Slaine. Slaine holding his hand, Slaine carrying him–

_Dreams, those are dreams of course._

Calm seemed to read his mind, however, and grinned. “Any vague recollection of Slaine?” the brunet’s surprise and wariness must have shown on his face, because Calm’s grin widened. “Ha! So you do remember something. Boy I wish I’d been there to see it…”

“Enough,”  Inaho snapped, the throbbing in his head disappearing with any patience he’d normally have. “Explain the situation already.”

“Alright, alright. Eesh. You got hammered.”

“What?”

“Drunk. You got utterly drunk.”

“Speak the truth Calm, this isn’t time for–”

“I’m serious!”

“...that’s impossible.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too when Slaine told me, but then I went and smelled the alcohol on your breath.”

“Slaine?”

“Slaine found you. You were on the outside deck, out in the rain, completely out of sorts.”

Inaho slowly closed his eyes in horror. “Slaine must be utterly disgusted with me right now.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He must think I’m so irresponsible as to drink to excess in this situation…”

“You didn’t drink on purpose, right?”

“Of course not, I’m not a fool!’

“Then don’t worry. Slaine didn’t think you did either. He thinks either there was a mistake and you got the wrong cup somehow, or someone was trying to prank you. Actually,” Calm shuddered, “he thought I and the others might have done to you as a joke. He nearly killed me before I could convince him we didn’t do anything. Boy, he was so scary I barely recognized _him.”_

 _He’s exaggerating, Slaine would never act like that towards someone other than I. Still, it’s good to know he believes I wouldn't be so reckless._ “So you didn’t put something in my drink?”

“Dude! What do you take me for?!”

“Someone who thought locking me and another person in a  small closet was a good idea.”

“...you’re never going to let us live that down are you? But fine, fair enough, that was dumb but we _definitely_ didn’t touch your drink.”

 _Then I know who did. I’ll deal with it later._ “So Slaine found me outside, brought me back inside and went to you?”

“No man, poor Slaine lost his shit with worry. He told me he thought you’d catch a cold all wet like that but if anyone else found you drunk you might have problems…”

“He wasn’t wrong. An underage drinking and doing so to the point of losing himself in a military warship...I would certainly receive some form of reprimand. What did he do?”

“Took care of your drunk self on his own.”

“...give me details.”

“I don’t know any! I only found out because I came to this room when he was tucking you in and he asked me to take care of you since Slaine felt him hanging around the room would be suspicious. He did say he had you take a warm shower first and seemed really worried that he’d breached your personal space or something. Eesh.”

Inaho took notice of what he was wearing; sleeping clothes. While he had a vague memory of removing his trousers, he couldn’t recall putting on pajamas. Which didn’t mean much: maybe he had but....what if Slaine had dressed him?

Concentrating, he thought he could almost remember leaning on him twice. Slaine had taken care of him all by himself, he wished he could remember…

Guilt flooded him; Slaine must have been worried and Inaho must have been a lot of trouble, yet all he could think about was how it was such a pity he didn’t recall any of it.

“Thank you for the information,” he told Calm and got up, beginning to get changed. “I’ll go after him to apologize.”

“Oh, you definitely should. Poor guy, I hope he went back and gave himself a relaxing bath after I took charge of you.”

“...what?”

“Oh! Uh, I guess I didn’t mention it? You see–”

***

He found Slaine in the laundry room, shirtless, as he was ironing his own.

“You idiot,” Inaho chided, out of breath from running around looking for the blond, and removed his coat. “Wear my coat at least.”

“What?” Slaine asked, startled.

“Walking around last night with wet clothes and now with your chest bare? You’ll get sick. Go on, put this on.”

Too surprised to fight back, Slaine obeyed. “So...you...uh...remember?” He ventured when he went back to ironing.

“...no. Calm told me what he knew. Are you alright?”

“Excuse me? I wasn’t the one drunk out of his mind.”

The tone isn’t accusing, just matter of fact, but still Inaho inwardly cringes at the words. “Yes but I wasn’t the one walking around drenched.”

“I have no idea how long you were outside–”

“But I’m fine, and certainly all thanks to you, and at the detriment of your own health. So, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. I have a good immune system, don’t worry. Here, I’ve finished my shirt. Would you like me to iron yours? It’s as crumpled as mine.”

“I can do that myself, and you’ve done enough for me.” He shrugged off his shirt and took the iron from Slaine. “In fact, regarding that, Slaine, I’m not very good at this sort of thing but I am sincerely grateful to you–”

“Please don’t. It’s what friends are for.”

“Even so, the trouble I must have-”

“Oh, it wasn’t any hassle. You’re a sleepy drunk, not an energetic one, thankfully,” Slaine said with a smile, then hesitated as the amusement fell from his face and he became uncertain. “But...about that... _I_ need to apologize. I mean, at the time I panicked and I thought taking care of you quickly was the best thing, especially for your health and, hum, _you were out of sorts and I had to...remove your shirt and help you put on your sleeping clothes and I’m so sorry I swear I didn’t do anything or_ _–_ ”

Inaho couldn’t help himself and chuckled. Seeing Slaine freeze up in confusion, he explained himself. “I never thought you had.”

“You trust people too much. I told you I’m interested in–”

“What you like doesn’t matter. I trust you, and you’re aren’t the type to take advantage, even if you were interested in me, which you aren’t.”

“R-right.” Slaine squeaked out, for some reason avoiding Inaho’s eyes and focusing too much on the shirt being ironed.

 _I guess he’s once again shy at a compliment._ “As such, there is no need to worry, I don’t mind that you took my clothes off when I was practically unconscious.” _In fact, had I been conscious I’d even have enjoyed_ _–_ _stop it_. “I’ve heard of the situation from Calm. You did what was best for me. Please don’t feel bad. I can’t thank you enough. As for my being drunk to begin with, I honestly did not attempt to drink.”

“Yes, I figured as much.” Slaine’s expression soured. “I think someone might have been trying to prank you.”

“...possibly.” Inaho replied carefully, not wanting to reveal anything to Slaine.

“Any idea who it was?”

“...Not really,” the brunet lied and quickly changed the subject. “Did I say anything strange during the whole ordeal? Drunk people tend to do so.” He wasn’t overly worried, however; Slaine was acting normal, if perhaps a little overly embarrassed at having taken care of him, so he doubted he had admitted his feelings.

Slaine’s expression cleared and he laughed. “Nothing much. You were barely awake for most of it. Honestly I think the funniest thing was when I put you to bed and you asked me to sleep with you. I think your addled mind just wanted some extra heat.”

 _No, I definitely wanted you._ “Hm.” Inaho finished ironing his shirt and put it on again, immediately Slaine pushed the coat towards him, but he refused to take it back. “No, wear it a while longer, even with your shirt, just in case.”

“...fine. Where are you going now? I think everyone else is still asleep from dinner.”

“I’m going to find Magbaredge, explain what happened and suggest alcohol confiscation.”

“I’ll be your witness.”

***

_Last night._

Out of sight, Slaine jogged rather than walked through the corridors, searching for Inaho. The direction his friends had said he went wasn’t towards the infirmary, so where would he have gone?

He heard a sound like footsteps going up just in front of him and rushed towards the sound…

...to find himself at the base of the stairs leading to the outside deck and no one in sight.

 _What? Was I mistaken? I could swear I heard_ _–_

The sound of the door to outside closing confirmed he hadn’t imagined anything. Nonplussed, he walked up the stairs.

 _It’s pouring outside, surely Inaho_ _–_ _or anyone for that matter, wouldn’t go out in this weather?_

The door was closed. Meaning if there was someone outside, said person wouldn’t be able to come back.

Slaine hastily opened it. Even if it wasn’t Inaho –and why would it be? It made no sense for the brunet to do this– he had to make sure there was no one locked outside in the rain.

The rain was falling so thickly that even with the light spilling from inside the Deucalion he could barely see in front of him. Despite his usual appreciation for water, right now, drenched to the bone and with wind biting at him, the blond wished nothing more than to leave. Instead, he walked forward carefully, looking for signs of someone else.

After less than a minute that felt like an eternity, he saw a figure and, approaching, was alarmed to find it was Inaho after all, and the boy was only a few meters from the edge.

“ _Inaho!_ ” He yelled, surging forward and grabbing his wrist to stop him. “What the hell? What do you think you’re doing?” He pulled the other boy to him.

Inaho blinked slowly at him, eyes strangely unfocused. “Slaine, you are here after all,” he said, words muffled yet strangely slurred.

A sudden suspicion overtook Slaine, and he moved Slaine’s head up and leaned down until his nose was near the brunet’s mouth.

“You want to practice CPR again? I’m fine with that,” Inaho said, but Slaine ignored the comment, suddenly shirking away from him, more surprised than disgusted by the smell of the alcohol in his breath.

“You’re _drunk?!_ ” Slaine stated what was now obvious, too bewildered to say something smarter.

Inaho blinked slowly, swaying slightly. “Am not. Don’t even drink…” he trembled with cold, and it snapped Slaine back to reality.

“Whatever, come inside.” Slaine said, dragging Inaho back as fast as possible. He wasn't sure what to think; underage and drinking to excess on a military ship didn’t feel like something Inaho would do, and he didn’t think he was lying either. And his friends had thought him unwell and not drunk…

The fact that he was inebriated, and overly so, was undeniable. But why or how he came to that state...Slaine would figure out later. Right now he needed to take care of Inaho.

When they were finally out of the rain, he turned to the brunet again.

“Why did you go outside?” It might be a stupid thing to ask the logic of so in that state, but he wanted to try.

“...head feels...fuzzy...cold water would be good…” Inaho garbled, shivering nonstop.

“You’ll catch a cold like that. You should–” Slaine stopped; there was no point in giving Inaho instructions. Sighing, he took hold of the other’s upper arm to pull him. “Let’s go.”

“...where?” Inaho asked a minute later, but not fighting the hold.

“A bath. You need a warm bath while I dry your clothes so you don’t catch anything.”

“...hands.”

“What?”

“Don't hold my arm, hold my hand.”

“Oh.” Slaine wondered why Inaho wanted such a thing. _Ah, I guess pulling him around by his arm is uncomfortable, so hands would be better…_

Despite seeing the logic to it, and the total lack of any romance in the situation, the blond still blushed at now walking around holding hands with Inaho. If someone –or God forbid, Marito– saw them like this…

He nearly froze, and only the worry about Inaho getting sick made him continue to hurriedly walk on.

The issue wasn't even someone seeing them and assume they were a couple. The problem would be anyone seeing them and realizing Inaho was completely drunk.

Drinking on a military environment, dangerously up in the sky, and doing it enough to lose all his senses...if Inaho wasn’t sanctioned for it, trust in his judgement would still lessen.

Slaine believed in Inaho; he was sure there was a good reason this happened. However, other people might not give him enough credit. Until Inaho was sober enough to explain why things came to this, it would be wiser to avoid most of the crew.

_It’s lucky Inaho is the sort to be sleepy and quiet when drunk, if he was the type to go crazy and energetic, he’d be ruined by now..._

They arrived in the nearest bathroom without issue. “Alright, now remove your clothes,” Slaine instructed and moved to leave–

What am I doing? He thought, and stopped himself.He had been about to search for Calm to help him but...could he really risk leaving Inaho alone in this state? Probably not.

Groaning, the blond turned back to find Inaho clearly dizzy with sleep, closing his eyes for too long whenever he blinked, and fumbling with his buttons.

Without another word, Slaine walked up to him and helped him open his buttons, pulling the shirt off him–

Ah, this was a mistake.

In his worry for Inaho, Slaine had forgotten the most important thing: he was attracted to him. Undressing him –and probably dressing him back, considering Inaho was in no state to do that properly– might not be such a good idea.

Not that there was any chance of him even wanting to do anything to Inaho in this state. But...but if Inaho ever found out how Slaine felt about him, the brunet might be uncomfortable knowing Slaine had even undressed him…

 _No. Inaho is very logical. He’ll understand I had no choice_ _–_

But did he have no choice? Or was he just accepting weak arguments to not get help because deep inside he wanted to take care of Inaho by himself?

_This isn't the time to be second guessing myself! I’ll just...hope I’m not that big a scumbag…_

With that in mind, he helped undo Inaho’s belt and moved away to turn on the shower as an excuse to have his back turned while Inaho took off his trousers and underwear.

He really hoped the brunet could do that alone at least…

As the water turned on and he tried to regulate it’s temperature, not bothering to avoid the water as he was already soaked to the bone.

He heard footsteps behind him. “Be careful not to trip,” he said mildly, still focusing on the shower–

Hands grab his waist and he feels a head rest on the back of his head. “Uh...Inaho?” he managed to squeak out.

“Sleepy.”

“I-I’m not a pillow! You can sleep after you warm up. Get in there.” Slaine moved aside so Inaho could walk in. As the boy slowly did so, Slaine wondered if he had managed to remove everything. He looked down.

 _He has a nice a_ _–_ _yes he removed his clothes. Great._

Desperately, Slaine grabbed Inaho’s scattered clothes so he could throw them in the drier. Even just five minutes in it would help.

“What ‘bout you?” Inaho muttered from the shower.

“What?”

“Shouldn’t you...take a bath too?”

Slaine blinked, surprised Inaho had managed to come to that conclusion in his present state. “Later,” he lied; he was used to feeling cold and right now he needed to concentrate on helping Inaho, not himself. He’d be fine.

And the uncomfortable cold he was feeling certainly helped–

“Now take a quick shower and dry yourself and wait for me and _don’t leave_. Got it?”

“Mm.” At what seemed like a positive assent from Inaho, Slaine almost ran out of the bathroom and into the laundry room close by, shoving everything inside the nearest drier with speed.

Groaning and trying to remove the image of Inaho’s...naked body from his head, Slaine wondered if this wasn’t a nightmare.

_It has to be, Inaho would never really get drunk...actually...speaking of that...why did he get drunk? His friends thought he was sick. Inaho says he didn’t drink, and he’s too smart to do something like that. So...did he drink from the wrong cup accidently? Hum, but would Inaho really make that mistake? But if that isn’t it, the only option is that someone put it on his cup on purpose…_

His vision darkened as he realized he could see it happening; maybe some idiot thought to ‘loosen’ up Inaho as a joke...

If that was it...and he found whoever had endangered him…

The sound of the drier finishing brought Slaine back to reality, and he realized he had clenched his hands into fists so tightly they were going white.

Hastily, he got the now barely damp clothes and returned to the bathroom, hoping Inaho hadn’t left…

He hadn’t.

Inaho had wrapped himself with a towel and was curled up and sleeping against a wall.

 _Cute,_ Slaine thought, crouching close to look at his sleeping face. _He looks so peaceful in his sleep...it would be a pity to wake him up…_

The decision was easy enough to make; Inaho was smaller, thin and had barely any muscle so it wouldn’t even be hard to do…

With ease, Slaine took hold of the sleeping boy and starting going towards his room, carrying him in his arms.

“Hm?” Inaho mumbled, opening his eyes. Slaine flinched.

“I’m so sorry about this Inaho. I didn’t want to wake you!” Had he been a little too eager to do this? What now–

But rather than say anything else, the brunet feel asleep again...but looped his arms around Slaine’s neck and nuzzled his neck.

Cursing, Slaine practically jogged the rest of the way.

Of course, reaching Inaho’s bed presented another issue. Inaho was naked beneath the towel, he couldn’t really leave the guy sleeping like that.

So…

He rummaged around. Thankfully the brunet was tidy enough that his clothes were easy to find.

“Wha?” Inaho blearily said, waking up again. Slaine was grateful at how a light sleeper he was turning out to be.

“Here. Put these on, it’ll be more comfortable.”

Somehow, Inaho got tangled with the shirt, so he had to help with that. With the trousers, Slaine found with some relief that the brunet could manage on his own.

“Now,” Slaine said, gently pushing him down and tucking him in, “go to sleep okay? You need to rest.”

Inaho blinked at him and reached out to grab the hem of his shirt. “You too.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll go to sleep too.”

“Here. Sleep with me.”

Damn, Slaine could feel his face and his whole body glowing bright red. Still, there was no way he’d ever say yes; Inaho was probably just interested in added body heat. Besides, even if he _hadn’t_... as much as he would enjoy sharing the bed with Inaho, doing any unusual request a drunk person asked for would be taking advantage.

“Ask me again the morning,” he said gently. Inaho frowned, but let go of the shirt. Slaine caressed his head until he finally fell into a deeper sleep.

As he was leaving the room, Calm entered.

Despite his usually joking personality, Calm didn’t hesitate in taking charge, and even setting an alarm clock for really early in the morning so he could be awake when Inaho finally awoke again.

Relieved he could trust Inaho to his friend, Slaine set out to get ready for a night of uneasy, guilty sleep.

He was probably going to wake up needing a cold shower…

***

_Inaho's dreams are pleasant, filled with Slaine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was much shorter than usual, I'm afraid. But I felt the whole thing could be contained as a solitary chapter and also, it was hard to write this part so I took longer.
> 
> I know some might have been hoping for drunk making out or even just drunk Inaho being crazy but I feel doing anything to a clearly drunk person is dubcom, and would be taking advantage. Slaine wouldnt do such a thing. As for Inaho...with his personality, just sleepy and dazzed fit him more.
> 
> Regarding this work now listed as being part of a series: nothing has changed. It's just that I decided the S2 part will be better off as a separate fic rather than just keep going in this one. Since we're already past the halfway point of what i planned for S1, I decided it was time to add it as part of a series


	14. Chicanery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chicanery: _actions or statements that trick people into believing something that is not true. Deception or trickery_

Inaho had the suspicion his friends were up to something.

Specifically, that they wanted him near Slaine.

First there was the fact they always made sure to keep a seat next to Inaho free so Slaine could sit next to him, or vice versa.

There was also their sudden interest in changing chores with him...which ended with him and Slaine always working together.

It also seemed like they were trying to not arouse suspicion.

Well...since Inaho had no cause to complain about it, he decided to pretend he hadn’t noticed, in case they stopped if he did.

Though he did wonder why they were doing it. Maybe they thought he and Slaine needed to work on their friendship?

*

Slaine had the suspicion Inaho’s friends were up to something.

Specifically, that they wanted him near Inaho.

First it was the fact they always made sure to keep a seat next to Inaho free so Slaine could sit next to him, or vice versa.

There was also their sudden interest in changing chores with him...which ended with him and Inaho always working together.

It also seemed like they were trying to not arouse suspicion.

Well...since Slaine had no cause to complain about it, he decided to pretend he hadn’t noticed, in case they stopped if he did.

Though he did wonder why they were doing it. Maybe they thought he and Inaho needed to work on their friendship?

*

Inaho’s friends were up to something.

Specifically, that they wanted Slaine and Inaho as near as possible for as long as possible.

First, they made sure to keep a seat next to Inaho free so Slaine could sit next to him, or vice versa. Then they started changing chores with both so that they ended up always working together.

Of course, they did all of it discreetly so as to not arouse suspicion. Clearly they were successful since neither boy was complaining.

***

“Thanks for this.”

“Hm, I have nothing better to do,” _and nothing I want to do more._ “So this is fine.”

“Would you like to sit?”

“On your lap?”

“ _I-Inaho!_ I meant–”

“That was a joke,” _a pity_ , “I know what you meant. It’s fine though; it’s better if you remain in your seat, since I’m here to help you improve. The one to do the actual piloting must be you.”

They were inside the simulator. Having ‘coincidentally’ ended up with similar schedules on it, Inaho agreed to help Slaine out.

Not that Slane truly needed help; considering how recently he had learned to pilot terran kats, his progress and current skill level were impressive. Nonetheless, the boy felt his skill wouldn’t be enough for an actual fight, and Inaho had to agree, so he needed to improve more, at a greater speed.

Thankfully, the simulator had enough room that Inaho could join Slaine inside and stand up next to his seat to observe his piloting.

“It’s a pity though,” Slaine said with a sign as he adjusted the settings.

“What is?”

“That there’s only one of these. It would have been nice to practice joint maneuvers with you. Ah, not that our tactical conversations aren’t good! But it’s not the same…”

“You’re right, it isn’t. But that’ll change; the Russian base should have simulators for that, and if not, we should have somewhere to practice using our kats anyway,” Inaho explained, then added with sincerity, “I look forward to it.”

“R-right! Just, hum, try to not shoot me down this time.”

“I make no promises if you act foolishly again.”

Slaine opened his mouth to retort, but the simulator finally began so he turned his attention to the screen.

“…Inaho,” he said eventually, gaze still glued to the screen, “why are you staring at me so much?”

“How can you tell where I’m looking, you should be fully concentrated on the task.”

“I have good peripheral vision and well…knowing when someone was staring at me was a good survival instinct among the martians. So…?”

“I was verifying if your posture and the way you hold the control were correct,” Inaho said. It wasn’t a lie. Just…not the only reason.

“Oh. And?” Slaine completed the first mission, so he could afford to glance at Inaho while the next scene loaded.

“It’s good,” Inaho assured him. “Though there are some issues with how you’re holding the control sticks.”

“What am I doing wrong?”

“Two things. You–” Inaho halted when the load screen disappeared and another session started. An idea came to his mind. “Actually, let me show you.”

“Oh okay, let me give you the seat then.”

“No.” Inaho put a hand on his shoulder to stop Slaine from standing up. “Do as you normally would.”

“If you say so…”

Slaine went back to looking at the screen. Inaho reached out–

–and put his hand over the one Slaine had gripping the controls.

“W-wha–”

“Focus on the task,” Inaho instructed. “It seems martian technology is much smoother and intuitive to deal with. You need  to make clearer movements, and be more forceful when moving the controls.” He demonstrated by gripping Slaine’s hand tighter as he demonstrated.

“R-right. Hold tightly. Got it.” Slaine babbled. Inaho removed his hand; as much as he didn’t want to; this had probably been a little too much…

“Uh…why don’t you…err...keep your hand there for longer? I-I mean! To feel if I’m doing it right?”

 _I don’t need to feel to know. All I need is to look at the screen_. “I have no issue with it.”

_So Slaine has no issue with a little touching. Let’s see, what other things can be taught that require close contact…_

He immediately discarded physical fighting; there was a limit to how much he could handle, and Inaho believed Slaine pinning him to the ground, body on top of his, trapping him between his thighs, might go beyond that limit.

*

Slaine was slightly glad Inaho had stopped asking for fighting matches.

There was a limit to how much he could handle, and Slaine believed pining Inaho to the ground, body beneath his, trapped between his thighs, might go beyond that limit.

***

“Poor Nao, he’s so unlucky, like a star crossed lover really,” Yuki bemoaned to Marito, who tried not to flinch at the name.

 _The one you should be feeling sorry for is me_ , he thought, then frowned when he processed what she had said. “What do you mean?” Marito asked, because the only love issue Inaho must be having is finding enough lube and condoms for all his activities.

“These days, it seems his schedule keeps him far away from his beloved. It’s so sad. I get that as people in very different stations, she wouldn’t–”

“... _she?_ Hold on, just who do you think he’s in love with?”

“With Asseylum of course!”

Realizing he didn’t have what it took to tell Yuki her brother was into another blond, and fucking them constantly...or getting fucked... _oh God not the mental images again_....he managed to rasp out. “Why?”

“The other day, he was listening to her!”

“...”

“And he gave her CPR!”

“...Yuki...if people only did CPR to those they liked, the drowning rate–”

“Look, it’s the way he acted towards her! He’s nice to her and stuff!”

“...Yuki, you're desperate aren’t you?”

“N-no!” Yuki denied, but her cheeks were scarlet. “They do like each other. And it’s a perfect match, she’s a princess after all…”

Marito inwardly groaned. He understood why Yuki ended up this way; she’d told herself she’d need to be Inaho’s mother, and having to deal with poverty all her life, a rich match for Inaho was probably a dream. He hoped she wouldn’t be too disappointed when Inaho came out to her.

“Anyway, these days he keeps having to do everything with Slaine…”

_Oh, how terrible that must be for him…_

“He must be getting so frustrated…”

_Yeah, with how they can’t keep their hands off each other, not fucking everytime they’re together must be a hurdle…_

“I think I’ll go talk to Slaine.”

“...what? Why?”

“I know Slaine likes Asseylum too…”

_...oh boy…_

“But he’s also friends with Inaho…”

“They’re...certainly getting friendly with each other…”

“Right! So, I think maybe he’ll understand he has no chance with the princess and do the right thing and help Inaho be more with her!”

Marito considered saying something but decided not to. Ultimately, it wasn’t his business.

Besides, Inaho and Slaine were already that intimate with each other, whatever nonsense Yuki spouted shouldn’t be an issue, Slaine would know better than to believe it...

***

“...and that’s it. I think that should be simple for you?”

“Yes, it was clear enough,” Inaho replied and, to show Slaine he had truly understood instructions, aimed at the target and shot.

The rubber bullet hit the edge.

“Not bad for someone who’s doing it for the first time. But here, let me improve your stance.”

He really didn’t need to get so close – he was practically hugging Inaho from behind to move his limbs in the correct position.

He also didn’t need to basically hold his hand in his to show how to position the gun.

But Inaho didn’t mind, so why not…

“I’m surprised they don’t teach you this stuff,” he tried saying, hoping that between the lesson and the conversation Inaho didn’t notice how much their bodies were unnecessarily touching.

*

Their bodies were touching much more than what was necessary.

He hoped Slaine didn’t notice, too immersed in teaching Inaho.

“Aiming with a normal handgun and aiming a kat gun from inside the cockpit are very different things,” Inaho replied, hoping it would keep Slaine distracted, “given the issue with martians is their technology, there was little to no point to teach us handgun’s as a priority.”

“I see. Ah, I think you got–” Slaine began. Inaho  realized he had done the posture perfectly, and purposely made himself flawed again. Slaine sighed. “Oh, you were nearly there, here–”

 _Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea..._ Inaho thought when Slaine put his hand on his hips, and decided to do it correctly from then on.

“Oh, looks like you got it, that’s a relief…” Slaine said when Inaho began to do it correctly, although his voice didn’t sound that satisfied. “I’m surprised you insisted on having me for a teacher…”

 _Not this again, I thought I had allayed his suspicions…_ “Like I explained earlier, even if you know little to nothing, given our matching schedules it would be more practical to ask it of you.”

“True. I guess you didn’t really need more than the basics.”

_I needed something else._

***

 _Isn’t Inaho....a little strange these days?_ Slaine wondered as he turned on the shower water. _He never really minded personal space invasion but...he’s been a little too touchy…is he feeling guilty about the drinking incident and this is how he apologizes? No...he’d be more direct than this..._

As if on cue, his bath stall box was opened and Inaho entered.

“Hey.”

“W-what are you doing here?” Slaine wished his voice didn’t end up so high pitched.

“Why are you so nervous? I thought you said you didn't mind this sort of thing.”

 _I didn’t when I wasn’t attracted to you!_ “J-just tell me what you want.”

“I thought it would help our personal hygine more thoroughly if we cleaned each other’s backs.”

Slaine froze, considering it. On one hand, it was an excuse to get very close to Inaho, and maybe accidently peak at his–

 _Nonononono_. Shame and self consciousness won and he kicked Inaho out.

_He’s acting so weird…_

***

The incident to seal it happened later, when they were saying their goodbyes for the day.

“Well, see you tomorrow then, Inaho.”

“Yes, goodnight–” Inaho began, but stopped suddenly. He glanced furtively around the empty corridors before turning back to Slaine. “– _Troyard_ ,” he finished, almost whispering.

Slaine nearly jumped in surprise, feeling his whole face flush for no reason.

“What. _Why did you_ –”

Inaho looked too amused by the reaction. “Is it bad if I say it?”

 _Yes, I’m not used to it so it feels...intimate somehow!_ “N-no, I was just surprised at the suddenness. Why did you do it?”

Inaho shrugged, “I just wanted to say it once. And since we’re alone…”

Slaine shivered and hoped it wasn’t noticeable. “ _Goodnight_ , Inaho,” he said incisively, and watched as the other left, while he was unable to leave from his spot.

 _Inaho is so naive,_ Slaine thought as he walked to his own room, rubbing his ear and feeling his blush recede. _Getting so touchy with me, allowing me to do the same, asking to soap his back, whispering my name because he felt like it...doesn’t he realize he’s acting_ _–_

_What if he does? What if he’s doing it on purpose and he_ _–_

Immersed and giddy at his own thoughts, he didn’t see the person waiting outside his door until she coughed to call his attention. Blinking, he turned to her.

“Hello, Slaine,” Yuki said, smiling strangely. “I apologize, I realize you’re going to bed, but can we have a quick chat first?”

*

Inaho got ready for sleep in a good mood. Slaine’s embarrassed face when Inaho said his name had been wonderful.

_Really, it’s surprising he’d mind that and us showering together, given what he’d letting me get away with recently...not to mention...what he himself_ _–_

Inaho’s stopped in his tracks, concentrating on his own thoughts. Slaine’s whole behavior _recently had been very contradictory…_

_Could it be? Is it possible my feelings are returned?_

Analysing Slaine’s recent behaviour, Inaho realized there was a possibility of such.

Quickly, he calmed himself down; it would be foolish to feel happy –or too hopeful– yet.

As he put away his things and sat on his bed, he opened the drawer where he kept Slaine’s gloves and took them out.

_Slaine Troyard…_

He enjoyed saying the surname to himself; even if Asseylum and Eddelrittuo and many martians also knew it, only Inaho had been given it in trust. It felt like something just for him.

He reluctantly returned the gloves to their place and laid down.

_From tomorrow onwards, I’ll pay more attention to how Slaine acts around me, to verify if I do have a chance...I hope I do._

*

 _From tomorrow onwards, I’ll make sure to watch how I act around Inaho, to avoid making it seem like I’m interested,_ Slaine vowed to himself.

His conversation with Inaho’s sister had been...enlightening.

It all made sense. Her Highness was perfect in every way, of course he would want her instead.

And...well...if there was anyone that was good enough enough for the princess, it was Inaho.

Slaine would help them. They deserved each other.

He went to sleep troubled and depressed.

*

Yuki went to bed humming happily.

Slaine had looked saddened at the news that he had no chance with Asseylum, but seemed honestly willing to help the two.

_Oh, Nao would be so happy when Slaine gives him space to be with Asseylum!_

***

Slaine’s night was restless. But maybe that was for the best; he woke up –or more correctly, didn’t really sleep– and managed to wake up earlier than usual and avoid Inaho.

Of course, he soon remembered he would have to work with him all day, and that left him even more dispirited.

He couldn’t evade Inaho forever anyway. He didn’t _want_ to, either. But he needed to prepare himself and stop being so selfish; he should be happy for the two and nothing else.

***

Inaho’s day began with a setback; Slaine was nowhere to be found.

Unusual, since he usually waited for Inaho, but not alarming.

Their first task of the day was to set up breakfast, so Inaho went to the kitchen.

Sure enough, Slaine was there. Rather than alert him to his presence, Inaho watched from the door.

Strangely, although the blond usually managed to tell when someone was observing him, Slaine remained oblivious this time.

_Is he that concentrated on his task? Hm, he has dark circles under his eyes, and his posture is slacking, did something happen?_

“Slaine,” he said to announce himself.

It was a mistake; Slaine jolted and one of the plates he was carrying fell to the floor.

*

Cursing and chiding himself, Slaine hastily put the other plates back on the sink and bent down to clean up the broken one. He heard Inaho moving close to him but ignored it.

He had just scooped up some shards when Inaho came in front of him and bent down to his level. “What are you doing? Use these,” he said shoving a dustpan and brush at Slaine. The blond put the shards he’d been holding in it but, when he reached to grab it from Inaho, the other pulled it away and began scooping up the pieces himself.

“Let me–”

“You helped me when I dropped all I was carrying, this is payback.”

“I didn’t help you with everything–”

“Too late.” As if to prove it, Inaho unceremoniously dumped everything in the trash reserved for such things.

Slaine sighed and stood up. “Thank you. Sorry about that.”

Inaho silently stared at him for a few seconds before giving a small smile. “That’s a relief.”

“Hm? What is?”

“I was worried you’d overreact somehow; either get worried about punishment or make a big deal out of it. But it seems you’ll be fine. I’m glad.”

Slaine nearly flinched; the last thing he wanted was Inaho complimenting him. “Yeah well, like I’ve told you; I am getting better. I wasn’t as traumatized as you thought.”

“Yes. You’re very strong.”

“But don’t startle me again!” Slaine snapped, feeling half guilty for changing the subject by half blaming Inaho.

“I apologize for that. How is your hand?”

“My–”

Inaho reached out and grabbed his hands before he could complete the question, examining them. “Good, you didn’t get cut on the shards. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’m used to it.”

Inaho’s expression soured, but he didn’t stop touching Slaine’s hands.

“Stop that,” the blond said, sounding harsher than intended, and pulled his hands from Inaho’s touch. “A-anyway, I’ve finished my part so I think I’ll go ahead.”

Inaho blinked, face black again. “You won’t wait for me?”

“...there’s no need to. We’ll meet again later. Maybe you should...hum...focus on _other_ people in the mean time,” he managed to say and left in a hurry before he could betray any hurt in his voice.

*

Inaho stared at where Slaine had just disappeared to, heart heavy.

So it wasn’t a coincidence, he was avoiding me. And the reason is clear.

_“Focus on other people”_

Slaine must have realized Inaho’s interest in him – and why wouldn’t he? Thinking back on his display the day before, Inaho realized he’s been too blunt about it, and not wanting to refuse him outright, was  trying to keep some distance between them, even suggesting Inaho should look for another…

_I was a fool._

***

Still berating himself for treating Inaho so badly and not helping his own feelings, Slaine walked down the corridors, head down, not caring where his feet took him.

Before he knew it, he was in front of Inaho’s dorm room.

Groaning, he made to quickly move past it–

“Ha! Found his tablet.”

“Good, take it.”

Slaine froze, and stood on the wall next to the doorway, listening to the suspicious conversation within.

“You really think this is okay? I mean, the brat will probably think we did it.”

“Not if we hide it well; or better yet, chuck it off the ship. It’ll serve him right, telling the captain about the alcohol.”

Slaine inhaled sharply. Were these people implying what he thought they were?

“I don’t think he told on us though, she didn't come to us.”

“I bet that robot knows it was us, but didn’t have any evidence so he just had her confiscate all the alcohol in general. Bastard. Well, this will be sufficient payback.

_These were the people that drugged Inaho...and now they’re going to steal his tablet…_

Slaine’s vision went _red_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D 
> 
> I apologize for the chapter being late again and being shorter than usual. When I planned it, I thought it'd be longer. I could have ended it later but...the cliffhanger is nice isnt it? ;) As for lateness, its th eusual: real life got busier. 
> 
> As some people and I realized: Inaho is a crap shot. So is Slaine. Nonetheless, given Inaho's goal was not really learning to shoot...he'd still ask Slaine for instructions
> 
> EDIT: I realized that some of you might now have tumblrs. Or check mine. There have been some awesome fanart for this fic. They can be found [here](http://fabelyn.tumblr.com/tagged/fwoan/)


	15. Ameliorate

He was walking to his next task dispiritedly when Yuki found him.

“Nao! So glad to have found you, how are things?”

“Normal,” he lies. Yuki rolls her eyes.

“Oh please, I can see you’re a little down. But I guess I can understand your frustration. You haven’t managed to meet her yet, even though you’re finally alone…”

Initially, he was confused. “What are you–” But then, a suspicion hit him. “Yuki, did you say something to–”

“Inaho, I finally found you, man!” Calm came rushing towards them, panting. “Dude, have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Oh who am I kidding, you wouldn’t be here if you had.”

“Calm, what happened?”

“Slaine. Slaine was in a fight and is now being taken care of in his room.”

***

The scene Inaho walked into when he barged into Slaine’s door left a bad taste in his mouth.

For one thing, Slaine was visibly hurt. Another thing is that despite his obvious injuries, he was here, in his own room, rather than the infirmary

Likely, whoever he fought with was being taken care of there, but still…

Lastly, rather than Dr. Yagarai himself, it’s Asseylum taking care of him. Except she wasn’t even doing that, but clearly berating him.

“Understood? Don’t ever do such a thing again!”

To Inaho’s surprise, instead of looking chided, Slaine looked at her blankly and said, “No.”

“No?” Asseylum repeated, shocked.

“I did what I had to do. I don’t regret it.”

“Violence is never the answer! Those people–”

“People? He fought more than one person?” Inaho asked, interrupting her. She whirled around at the sound of his voice while Slaine flinched when he noticed him.

“Yes, he–”

“Do you think Slaine is an idiot?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“Then why are you assuming he wanted to pick a fight with more than one person at the same time? Do you know what happened at all or are you just assuming Slaine didn’t bother to think about it.”

“He hurt them, Inaho!”

“If he was outnumbered, you should be questioning the cowardice of these people that ganged up against him, and be thankful he escaped them with barely anything. Just because Slaine knows better doesn’t mean he can always afford to do the right thing. Why don’t you go tell the others off?”

“I’m taking care of Slaine’s injuries.”

“No, you’re clearly telling him off for defending himself against some cowards. You can go not do the task you were given elsewhere, Seylum.”

He knew he was being overly forceful with her, but clearly the novelty of being talked to in such a manner worked and, looking dazed, Asseylum exited, leaving her first aid kit behind.

“Shouldn’t you go after her?” Slaine asked, sounding worried and tired.

“Why?”

“You were too harsh with her.”

“And so was she with you.”

“It’s praise, in a way. She expects me to be better than most, so she gets overly upset if I’m not. But still, please go after her. I don’t want you to ruin things between you two for my sake.”

 _I doubt our friendship is that fragile_. “It’ll be fine. Now, let’s take care of your injuries.”

“Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

Inaho sat down next to Slaine on the bed and placed the first aid kit left behind between them. “Your injuries are a priority.”

“…It’s fine. I’m not that hurt, I’m used to taking care of–”

“Just because you had to do it alone before doesn’t mean you should continue to do so now. Where are you hurt? Apart from your face, obviously.” There was dry blood under his nose and his lip was busted.

“They managed to land a punch to my gut and kick me in the leg.”

“...just that? How many were there?”

“Five.”

“You fought five people and only got that hurt?” Inaho asked, hoping his amazement showed, while he rummaged through the kit for what he needed.

Slaine beamed. “They sucked and didn’t think I was any good. By the time they realized it was too late.”

“Hm, good. And is the reason why you’re being taken care of here and not the infirmary because they’re all there?”

“Yes.”

The confirmation appeased Inaho a little. He finally found a spray for bruises, so he turned to instruct Slaine, “Strip.”

The other didn’t flush, but he did flinch. “No, I can do that myself. The bruises were in locations I can easily put on stuff on alone.”

The fact that Slaine was refusing irked Inaho. Not because he was attracted to him; he wasn’t repulsive enough to be thinking of using Slaine’s injuries to observe him. It aggravated him because even if he could do it alone, help should still be better–

_Ah, now that he knows I’m interested in him, does the thought of being touched by me sicken him?_

“I’ll call Seylum back.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You should get help, and if you don’t want me to do it, someone else should.”

*

Slaine felt his heart plummet at Inaho’s words. _So, he’s figured out how I feel._

“I’m sorry, I…” _I just can’t handle being close to you when I know you like Asseylum…_

“I understand.”

“You...do?”

“Yes. I...apologize if my feelings have inconvenienced you.”

“Oh, please don’t! You have done nothing wrong. It’s I who shouldn’t...feel this way...” he looked down and bit his lips. “Is it...okay if we remain friends though?”

*

As hurt as he was, Inaho was glad Slaine didn’t want to push him completely away. “Yes, I would really like it if we remained friends. Thank you.”

At that, Slaine frowned. “Why are _you_ thanking _me_?”

Before he could consider the question, the door slammed open and Magbaredge entered, looking tired and vexed, holding a tablet in her hands. “Slaine, how are you?” she asked when she approached the two.

Slaine sat up straighter immediately, looking serious. “I’m fine, with only minor injuries.”

“Good. I’ve taken their account of this mess. You’ve already told me your version in short, but I need a more detailed one. Are you capable of doing so now?”

“Yes,” Slaine replied with certainty then glanced at Inaho and deflated. “But...can I do so in private?”

Magbaredge furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why? Given the matter at hand, Inaho will only help your case.”

“What do I have to do with this?” Inaho demanded.

“You mean no one has told you?”

“Please,” Slaine interjected, sounding slightly desperate. “Please keep him out of–”

But Inaho’s brain was already processing everything.

_Slaine doesn’t like to pick fights, and is used to allowing people to bully and abuse him. Yet he fought against five people without remorse…_

_The last time Slaine had tried to attack someone, it was to defend Seylum…_

Inaho had assumed that aggressiveness was exclusively for the princess, but what if Slaine defended anyone he was close to? Even if he rejected Inaho romantically, he had just been shown Slaine still wanted to be friends…

_Five people, the exact number of people bullying me._

He snapped back to Slaine, and his words come out a little harsher and faster than usual in his disbelief. “ _Did you fight the men harassing me?_ ”

Rather than deny it, Slaine’s eyes flashed dangerously. “You _know_ you’re being harassed? So you know who put the alcohol in your drink, and they must have done something else besides. I should have done more–”

“Unless they went after you, you shouldn’t have done anything at all!” Enraged, Inaho couldn’t help but raise the tone of his voice. Slaine didn’t back down, instead doing the same.

“You don't even know what they were doing!”

“Again, unless it was to you, you shouldn’t have meddled!”

“They were going to throw your tablet away!”

“You picked a fight with five people for _that?!_ Are you–”

“ _Enough!_ ” Magbaredge yelled, stopping them. With a frustrated sigh, she continued at a lower but stern tone. “I have verified for myself that the tablet at the scene was indeed Inaho’s. Naturally, the five boys assure me they were trying to retrieve it from Slaine– _No!_ ” she said, when both Inaho and Slaine opened their mouths to complain. “I know what you both are about to say and it’s unnecessary; I find it hard to believe Slaine would have been stealing Kaizuka Junior’s personal belongings. Speaking of which, take it.” She handed Inaho the tablet she’d been holding.

He verified the tablet was truly his, then looked back at Magbaredge. “What will you do to them now?”

She hesitated, and squared her shoulders as if bracing herself for something before finally answering, “I...will give them a stern warning–”

Both boys jumped from the bed in unison.

“They ganged up to beat Slaine–”

“They drugged Inaho and tried to steal–”

“Stop! Do you have proof they were the ones to do it?”

She was met with silence.

“I didn't think so. Listen; I trust you two, but as a leader I cannot afford to hand out punishment on hearsay alone. Even in the current matter, there is no proof Slaine’s version of events are the truth, and I have five accounts telling me otherwise. Notwithstanding, despite the conspicuous disadvantage, Slaine severely beat them: there are broken noses, broken fingers, two people with maimed ribs, three black eyes, two limping from kicks to the legs and one with pain in his crotch.” For a moment, Magbaredge’s lips twitched, and even Inaho momentarily forgot his rage to feel pride–

He then recalled just why Slaine was so good at defending himself and it dampened his mood again.

Likewise, their captain recovered quickly and went back to looking cross. “As the current situation stands, the one who should be more harshly dealt with is Slaine. However,” she says before they could stand up and interrupt again. “From the little I know of all involved, I feel that wouldn’t be fair. So what I can do is let Slaine go without castigation, and warn them that any new trouble and they will be gravely sanctioned.”

“You can punish me, if it means they’ll also be so.”

“This isn’t a bargain, Slaine. My decision is final. If they do anything else, come to me.”

Wordlessly, Inaho left. He heard Magbaredge calling him back but ignored it, still too incensed.

While he could understand why she made such a decision, Inaho wasn't satisfied. He had dealt with bullies before, and knew they wouldn’t rest until they had the complete upper hand. The minor sanction would not deter them. On the contrary; they would only feel further enraged. Worse, they’d be coming after Slaine now.

It was one thing to go after Inaho himself; he could handle it somewhat. But to hurt someone he cared about…

Inaho balled his hands into fists but willed himself to be calm; he needed to be so if he planned on protecting Slaine.

He went to the infirmary and hid behind a wall, waiting.

_They’ll be at their angriest when they’re released. They’ll likely discuss vengeance as soon as they get away from everyone. And it’ll need to be something subtle so they aren’t to blame..._

It didn't take long for them to leave, all with dark looks on their faces and worse for wear. One would think they had thought against twice their number judging by how heavily injured they were.

They said nothing, only nodded to each other and quietly walked away.

_It seems they’ve already come up with a plan. Dr. Yagarai probably left them alone and they discussed it then._

Inaho followed them in secret.

***

He hadn’t thought he could become more livid then he was already. He had been wrong.

It took a lot of effort for Inaho to not do like Slaine and attempt to simply harm them there and then.

They had tinkered with the simulator.

To be more precise, they had loosened some screws on its leg.

Inaho hadn’t needed to overhear the conversation to understand what they had planned. Slaine was booked to use it next.

With Slaine’s weight on it, the thing would become unhinged. It wouldn’t break and topple...but would shake and threaten to do so enough to make Slaine deathly afraid.

Inaho was almost shaking from his rage. It was the alcohol scenario all over again; bullying that could easily turn harmful.

They shouldn’t have messed with Slaine.

Inaho considered how best to make them pay. He had an idea…

It would be dangerous, very much so. One step wrong and he could seriously injure himself. And if he was mistaken in how he assumed the boys to react...it would all be for naught.

But if he succeeded...the payoff would be perfect.

Mind made up, Inaho set to work.

***

A while later, he found everyone where he’d hoped they’d be, at lunch. The table consisting of his bullies sat near his friends –most likely to ensure they didn’t miss Slaine leaving to go to his training on the simulator– and were openly glaring at the blond. Slaine wasn’t cowed, however, and was looking back at them with equal hostility.

If the whole situation hadn’t been so dangerous for Slaine, Inaho would be appreciating –if not slightly turned on– by how aggressive the other was being for his sake.

It was good that he was normally expressionless, as it meant he needed little effort to appear nonchalant as he approached Slaine, ignoring the other table.

“Slaine,” he said, making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard by any table nearby paying attention but not enough to make it suspicious. “I verified it’s your turn at the simulator now. May I have a go at it before you do? I want to try out some moves to help you later.”

Slaine, of course, had no objection to it and even thanked him profusely, which Inaho didn’t like. Slaine being overly effusive in his gratitude denoted distance between them. But he supposed it’s only expected, since Slaine now wanted it due to Inaho’s feelings for him–

–and on the other table, the boys tried to pretend they haven’t even heard, but from the corner of his eyes Inaho could see their shoulders tense and their excited looks to each other.

They wouldn’t try to stop him. On the contrary; they would probably be eager to see the results, and Inaho’s plan relied on them doing so. Even if the trap had been initially set for Slaine, if Inaho was the one to suffer such a scare...they should be fine with it.

*

Slaine watched Inaho leave the mess hall with a mixture of gratitude and pain.

Didn’t Inaho realize being so nice would only make it harder for Slaine to stop liking him?

Such thoughts were pushed aside quickly when he noticed Inaho’s bullies leaving through the same door Inaho had.

It could be a coincidence but...Slaine wasn’t about to take any chances where Inaho was concerned; he got up and followed them.

***

The simulator had a tablet for external control. Whoever held it –usually his sister– could both verify how the person inside was faring, as well as speak and even shut down the whole thing.

Most importantly, however, it had a camera so that the person controlling form the outside could see the one inside and vice versa.

Inaho had placed it on an inconspicuous shadowed wall, camera turned on. And recording.

From inside the simulator, he watched when they arrived and stood by the door.

Their laughing and obvious anticipatory body language were now recorded on camera. If shown to Magbaredge, it might be sufficient proof that they had tinkered with the kat.

But they had hurt Slaine, and tried to do it again. Inaho wasn’t _done_ , far from it.

He wasn’t a mechanic, but had enough knowledge for what he wanted. He’d dabbled with the already loosened screws so that the simulator wouldn’t just shake, it would fall if correctly pushed in a certain direction.

Attracted to the thought of Inaho being frightened, the five edged closer…

Inaho stood up, angled and threw himself bodily into the simulator’s wall. It shook slightly. Inaho did it again.

As calculated, it began falling towards the boys.

*

Despite his fury, Slaine hadn’t taken leave of his senses. Rather than closely follow the bastards, he ran to Magbaredge.

After all, if he was correct in assuming they were going to harass Inaho, then their destination was the simulator. As such, it was smarter to call Magbaredge so she could witness first hand whatever they said or did. She seemed reluctant for a moment but ultimately followed him.

They reached the simulator just as it fell forward.

*

Although he had braced for impact, Inaho didn’t manage to fully protect himself and hit his head when the top of the simulator hit the floor.

Blackness engulfed him.

When Inaho came to, he felt trapped under something but not dangerously so; and there was even enough oxygen for him. He moved his limbs enough to verify he was fine, with only some minor bruises, but there was something wet and sticky dripping down from his head.

 _Blood. But not enough that I will die from it anytime soon. Good._ Rather than try to move further, Inaho closed his eyes and remained immobile; the more hurt he looked, the more believable it would be that he was only a victim of the disaster, not its perpetrator.

He could hear noises from outside, if barely, as the walls of the cabin muffled everything. Very soon, there was the sound of someone scrambling desperately just outside the walls that trapped him. _Someone is trying to to rescue me._

After a minute, he could hear the sound of the hatchet being opened, and sounds from outside now flooded in clearly. They consisted mostly of pained yelling, but they were quickly drowned out by a yell much closer to him.

“ _Inaho!_ ” It seemed the one to come for him had been Slaine. “Captain, I found him! He was inside!”

“How is he!?”

Inaho felt weight being lifted from him and his body being gently moved. Slaine was cursing while quietly begging him to be alright and it made Inaho feel guilty enough about his charade that he opened his eyes a fraction and, pretending it was an effort, mumbled randomly and faked fainting again.

“Captain! He’s alive but fainted!” Slaine called out with obvious relief, and Inaho could feel him trembling as he looped his arms behind Inaho’s legs and back and lifted him. “I’m taking him to–”

“W-what about us?!” Inaho heard one of the five wail, sounding close by and hysteric. “My _leg_. I can’t fucking feel my–”

_Were they stupid enough to not run away before it was too late? They should have had ample time to do so. Fools; but I suppose it’s better this way._

He wished he could open his eyes to see the situation, but didn’t want to take such a risk. If things weren’t so dire, he’d have appreciated the fact Slaine was carrying him.

“You will cease feeling much more than that soon,” the other was snarling. “You sick bastards, this is all you fault, isn't it?”

“Slaine,” Magbaredge’s voice began from not too far off, but Slaine didn’t heed her.

“Captain, think about it. Why would they want to come watch Inaho practice? Obviously they’re the ones responsible for this!”

“ _Pleasepleaseplease!_ Can’t ya see I’m trapped?!” A second one started, voice almost incomprehensible with desperation. “Help move this from my arm–”

“You got what you deserved.”

“We didn’t do this! Why would we do this to ourselves!?” Yet another one insisted, this one sounding less hurt, and thus his speech was less unintelligible, but wracked with coughing.

_Ah, the simulator’s fall must have brought about a lot of dust in the air. I hope Slaine and Captain Magbaredge didn’t breath too much of it._

Slaine was slowly extricating himself from the wreckage, carefully and slowly due to having Inaho in his arms, judging by his movements. “The timing is too big a coincidence,” he insisted, “You five did this. I bet you’re all so stupid you didn't know what you were doing and fucked up, hurting yourselves.”

“No!” The first one said again, now crying. “We fucking checked that it wouldn’t really collapse–” He realized what he was saying and stopped, but it was too late.

There was complete silence.

_They’re even less intelligent than I thought, or the pain is making them so. Either way, that recording will no longer be necessary…_

“Captain,” Slaine spoke again, voice cool and soft and somehow more dangerous than it had ever been. “Inaho is my priority. I’m going to take him to the infirmary. If these...these vermin appear anywhere in my line of sight I can promise you they won’t survive.”

“...yes, understood. Ah, looks like reinforcements are finally here,” Magbaredge replied, and Inaho could hear the sound of feet and gasps as people began arriving to check what the noise had been. “ _Do_ take him there, Slaine. And of course, for their own sake, rather than send these... _criminals_ to the infirmary, I will request that they be moved to somewhere safe from you. A cell should suffice.”

“What?! I’m _bleeding!_ ”

“My leg, my leg!”

“Please, my arm, I can’t even feel it–”

Their desperate cries and complaints continued as Slaine silently took him away and only ceased when they faded into the distance.

Slaine felt stiff, and Inaho’s head was leaning close enough to hear his rapid heartbeats.

That Slaine might be one of the first on the scene he’d anticipated, but Inaho didn’t think he’d get this emotional over it. Guilt again swallowed him, so, considering the corridors they were walking on seemed empty by the lack of sounds, he stopped pretending to be unconscious.

“Slaine,” he said immediately. The other nearly lost his balance in surprise, but recovered before he could drop Inaho. He looked at him almost teary with relief.

“Inaho! You’re awake again! I’m so–”

“I was never senseless,” Inaho replied in a whisper. “I was pretending to be so no suspicion could befall me.”

It took Slaine a moment to fully understand what Inaho has just implied and when he did, his expression turned thunderous.

“You did–”

“Not so loudly, someone might overhear. And it’s fine, you can put me down.”

“...is the blood on your head fake?” Slaine asked, too coldly.

“...no.”

“Then even if not to the extent I assumed, you are hurt, regardless of whose fault it is, so I’m carrying you there. You bastard. I was beside myself with–”

“I know. I could tell. It’s why I stopped pretending, I didn't mean for you to get so distraught–”

“Oh? What did you expect, knowing how I feel?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Inaho asked, frowning. “At the most, if I didn’t know you better, I’d assume you’d care less.” _Since you’re repulsed by my feelings._

“What?! How can you possibly come to such a conclusion? I think you did hit your head and it’s affecting your processing skills. It’s the opposite of course!”

“Opposite? Ah, guilty that I was rejected?”

“...what? Wait, did Asseylum rejec–”

“Boys, you’re finally here!” Dr. Yagarai’s voice interrupted them, seconds before the man himself rushed in front of them. “The Captain sent me a text explaining everything, come on in.”

Asseylum was inside, and she gasped when she saw Inaho’s state. Slaine, voice steely, assured her Inaho would be fine and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed.

As the doctor and the princess rushed to check on him, Inaho focused instead on Slaine; he had moved to lean against a wall, arms crossed, still looking sullen. Inaho hadn’t expected the other to react so, and felt it might be better to talk with him as quickly as possible since Slaine seemed to be getting angrier by the minute.

“I think I’m feeling fine now,” he told the doctor. “When I came to, Slaine mentioned other people were in more pain than I, please go treat them,” he lied, and ignored the darkening look in Slaine’s face.

Asseylum looked touched at his false selflessness, but Dr. Yagarai still hesitated. Finally, after bandaging his head, the doctor began asking expected questions and, when Inaho gave him the studied reply to make him believe he had had a concussion but suffered no lasting damage, the doctor seemed satisfied enough to leave him.

“I think it’s safe to leave you for now. We’ll go check on the others, stay here and remain lying down until we return.”

“Slaine, will you please take care of Inaho while we’re gone?” Asseylum asked. For a moment, it almost looked like Slaine was considering denying her request, but then he nodded curtly. This seemed to be sufficient for the princess, and left with Dr. Yagarai.

As soon as their footsteps fade, Inaho sat up. With a scowl, Slaine removed himself from the wall, walked up to him and pushed him back down.

“Stay like that,” he instructed. Then, looking more tired than angry, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Just...why?!”

“They loosened a screw on the simulator. Enough that it would give whoever used it next a large scare.”

“You asked to have a go first so it wouldn’t be me.” Slaine realized, and slumped in the nearest chair. “You nearly got killed because of–”

“No,” Inaho reached out and managed to touch Slaine’s hands with his own. “I made it so rather than simply shake dangerously, the thing would fall with the correct stimuli.”

Slaine stared at him for a few seconds, stunned. “Why would you– oh. This way, everyone, even those five, will assume it’s their fault.”

“Precisely. Such a lethal and destructive attempt at a prank should have them locked up for the remainder of the trip. Furthermore, they will not wish too much vengeance onto us, as they’ll most likely think they themselves made a mistake. Not to mention, they were extremely harmed.”

“Inaho…”

“...you must be extremely horrified right now.” Inaho stated and retrieved his hand, now looking up at the ceiling to avoid seeing Slaine’s expression. “This is my true character, I was hoping to avoid you seeing it. I’m not...sweet and forgiving and empathetic like Seylum.”

“Inaho–”

“This isn’t even the first time I do something like this. When I was much younger, I was bullied. When they tried to bully my sister along with me, I...trapped them in a hole I made and threw stones at them. We were all children, and I broke someone’s arm.”

Slaine said nothing in reply, and Inaho found he had no courage to check how the other was looking at him now, instead closing his eyes in defeat. _And now, he won’t even want to be my friend anymore._

There was the sound of a chair scraping the ground, coming closer, but before he could open his eyes again, a hand reached out and began caressing his locks.

“For someone so smart, you sure can be an idiot sometimes,” Slaine said, voice softer now. “This doesn’t change how I feel about you. However, it does make me livid you didn't even tell me! I could have helped come up with something that didn’t threaten you so, or been the one inside…”

“I would never agree to that,” Inaho said. He hesitated before continuing and asked, “Is it...really fine with you? That I nearly killed them–”

“If there is something wrong with that, then we both are twisted. I once shot someone for revealing to have been in Asseylum’s assassination attempt. I nearly shot you for similar reasons and if I hadn’t choked her, I would have at least severely injured Rayet. So no, I don’t think any less of you.”

“That’s...a relief.” Inaho could feel himself melting into the gentle touch, and continued with some difficulty. “Should you really be doing that?” he asked, touching Slaine’s hand.

It’s as if it burned him, because Slaine hastily stopped and removed it. “I’m _so_ sorry. I–”

“Please don’t apologize. I understand the gesture is only meant in friendship. I simply assumed you’d rather...avoid such things now.”

“Ah, I guess it is overstepping of me to be so affectionate. I guess it’s just more troubling for you, sorry.”

“I understand if some people in the same situation would feel like that. Personally, however, even if I acknowledge I can’t have more than this, I enjoy the little you see fit to bestow me.”

“...what?”

The reaction was strange enough that Inaho opened his eyes and turned to where Slaine was sitting right next to his bed. He was frowning and looking at him strangely, like Inaho had just given him a confusing riddle to solve.

“...Inaho…” he finally said, slowly as if it was a struggle. “What...how...how do you feel about Her Highness?”

The one now frowning was Inaho, as he couldn’t grasp what the conversation had to do with her.

Unless…

 _Is he going to suggest I give her my affection instead? Yes, that is the only thing that make sense in context._ “I’m...touched that you would consider me worthy enough to be allowed to be interested in her, even if not good enough to be liked by you, but I’m afraid I see Seylum as nothing more than a friend. And I doubt I will ever see her differently.”

Slaine’s expression...it was impossible to explain or decipher. His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open and he stared like at Inaho like he had become inhuman. “You... you _like_ me? _Me_?”

“....yes?” Inaho was becoming worried for Slaine’s sanity, had the stress addled his memory? “We’ve been talking about this since the morning when you–”

“ _I don’t believe this!_ ” Slaine wailed before burying his head in his hands.

“...Sla–”

“I like you.”

Inaho froze, but surely he was just misunderstanding–

“Don’t look at me like that, Inaho. You didn’t misunderstand. I like you. _Really_ like you, as more than a friend.”

Inaho stared until he remembered he needed to breath and, because he didn’t know how to deal with this, tried asking, “...what about this–”

“Your sister talked to me yesterday after we had said goodbye to each other. She told me how in love with Her Highness you were, and how my hanging around you so much was probably hindering your epic romance.”

“...so this whole day was just yet another misunderstanding?”

Slaine’s lips twitched in dry amusement. “Well, to be fair, this time there was a third party getting us confused.” His mirth disappeared and he began looking nervous and unsure. “That is...I think so? I mean, you don’t like Her Highness and from what you’ve been saying I think I know who you do. But...hum...maybe I’m just being overly hopeful.” He licked his lips nervously. “So, do you…?”

Inaho felt his heart hammering in his chest, and he sat up and twisted to be fully facing Slaine.

“Slaine, I–”

 _“Nao!_ ” The door banged open and his sister rushed in, looking beside herself with worry. “Nao! I just heard everything. Oh my god, are you–”

“Out,” Inaho cut her off impatiently. The words were so unexpected his sister stopped her tracks and blinked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“I’m fine. Dr. Yagarai has seen to me and can confirm that. I understand you are worried but right now I need you to leave.”

“Huh? But _why?!”_

“I have just been confessed to by the person I like after we nearly drifted apart thanks to your ridiculous meddling. I’m uncharacteristically mad at you right now and I want to profess my own feelings, so if you don’t mind, please leave.”

Slaine flushed prettily and giggled while Yuki stared around the room as if searching for Asseylum hiding somewhere. Finally, her gaze landed on Slaine again and her mouth dropped open in a perfect O.

“Yes, I’m attracted to Slaine. I have no idea why you assumed I felt so towards Seylum, of all people. Now, I will ask that you leave once again. If you don’t want to, feel free to hang around while I engage in physical intimacy with my new boyfriend.” He paused, and turned to Slaine. “All things considered, _do_ you concede to be my–”

Slaine rolled his eyes and groaned, “That has to be the least romantic way of asking someone to date you I have ever heard. You’re lucky I’m too thrilled to say no.”

“Good. So, sister? Will you stay or–”

Finally, Yuki snapped out of it. She babbled incoherently as she edged back towards the door and exited again.

“You’ll have to talk to her later. She did mean well at heart.”

“Hm, I know. The shock of this right after hearing I was hurt will be punishment enough for nearly ruining everything. I’ll speak to her properly...soon. But first….you. Although now you have your answer.”

The bed was high enough that, when sitting up on it, Inaho was quite higher than Slaine. To fix that, Slaine stood up from his chair and leaned into Inaho, hands placed on either side of him.

“If you think…” Slaine said slowly and quietly, voice lower in a way that had Inaho itching to just kiss him. “I’m going to accept such a lackluster, roundabout confession...you clearly need to rest more,” he finished, and pushed Inaho down again.

Or tried to. Inaho grabbed his arm, so Slaine was pulled along until Inaho was lying down with the other on top of him.

“Fair enough,” he replied, looping one arm around Slaine’s waist to keep him in place while his other hand stroked his cheek. “After carefully analysing, comparing and contrasting...”

Slaine tried to groan in annoyance, but instead it came out as a chuckle as he put his hand over Inaho’s own and shifted into a more comfortable position.

“...And it has come to my attention that I like you, Slaine Troyard. Romantically. And very much so. Considering this, would you–”

He didn’t get to finish, as Slaine moved and closed the gap between them with a kiss. Even though it wasn’t deep when compared to what they’d done when practicing mouth to mouth, somehow it felt just as valuable and, for once, Inaho couldn’t _think_. And he didn’t want to, either.

The kiss didn't last more than a few seconds, and had been soft. Too soft.

“Are you...being gentle because I’m injured?” Inaho asked, breathless despite how short it’d been, licking his lips in case some of Slaine’s taste lingered.

“S-sorry, was that not good enough?”

“It was good, but it wasn’t _enough._ ” The hand on Slaine’s cheek moved to the back of his head to bring him back down again...

“Hey, Junior,” Marito’s voice came from the doorway. “I heard you got– oh, _c’mon!_ _Seriously?!_ What’s the excuse this time? CPR?”

The man never understood why the two glanced at each other, started laughing and wouldn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ameliorate: _to make (something, such as a problem) better, less painful, etc._
> 
> -I left the meaning of the title at the end, for once, so it didn't spoil how things would turn out ^^
> 
> -The part about Inaho throwing stones and breaking a bully's arm as a kid is canon
> 
> -So is there being a tablet connected to the simulator. We see Yuki using and speaking with Inko through it
> 
> -This chapter was hell. It had the two things Im not good at: fluff and 'action'. I hope it turned out decent given how important both were


	16. Apolaustic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apolaustic: _devoted to enjoyment_

It was all thanks to them, of course.

Inaho’s friends patted themselves on the back for a job well done as, doubtlessly, Inaho and Slaine only got together thanks to their plotting.

Of course, they might have succeeded a little too well, judging by how they wouldn’t untangle themselves from each other...

*

Yuki had ended up recovering and accepting the situation even before her brother had sought her out to explain.

It was a sad loss that her brother wouldn’t become royalty and rich and have children…but at the same time… marrying Asseylum would mean having to live on Mars, and she had nearly been murdered by her own people, so he’d be in danger...

Yes, maybe her brother had dodged a bullet after all. And Slaine wasn’t a bad match either. He was good looking, smart, skilled, and terran.

By the time Inaho had found her, Yuki’s mind was already made up to the point she hugged him and gave him congratulations, saying that somehow deep inside she always knew he was gay.

Her brother said something about there being another name for it, but she ignored him and went to apologize to Slaine and assure him he couldn’t have been luckier to be chosen by her brother.

***

Inaho didn’t expect things to change much now that they were officially together.

He assumed the change would only change their interaction in the form of some physical intimacy in private.

Which was fine with Inaho; before Slaine, he had never even wanted a relationship, so continuing on (when in public) in the same way as when they used to be only friends was fine with him.

Besides, knowing Slaine, doubtlessly he’d be shy and reserved...

He was wrong in all accounts. As he found out just after announcing the relationship to his friends, who for some reason gave each other proud looks.

“Did you see them high-fiving each other when we turned our backs?” Slaine asked as they left his friends, walking side by side.

“Yes.”

“Do you know why?”

“I don’t. Maybe they were celebrating my finally taking an interest in someone. Though it’s unexpected that Calm would react like that, I felt he’d be the type to question why I’m not into girls.”

“Hm.”

The lapsed into silence for a few minutes...and then Inaho felt Slaine’s hand brush against his own. He thought nothing of it. Less than a minute later, they touched again, this time for a few more seconds. On the third time, Slaine grasps Inaho’s hand gingerly.

“Yes?” Inaho asked, halting his tracts as he assumed Slaine wanted his attention.

“O-oh, sorry. It’s nothing,” Slaine said, avoiding eye contact and blushing, but not letting go. “It’s just...I just wanted to hold your hand.”

“Ah, hand-holding. Yes, couples do that. Alright then.”

“Uh, nevermind, if you don’t want to, we don’t have to just because people usually–”

“I have no feelings towards that, so it’s fine if we do it.”

“O-okay!”

They resumed walking, with Slaine still avoiding his eyes.

Quickly, Inaho’s opinion of hand-holding changed, and soon he found himself thinking the way they were doing it –with Slaine’s hand grasping his– felt wrong…

He moved and twisted his hand until Slaine’s was no longer over his, but intertwined with it.”

“...Inaho?”

“I like this way better.”

“Me too,” Slaine replied, giving his hand a light squeeze which for inexplicable reasons Inaho found enjoyable. “But didn't you just say you felt nothing towards hand-holding?”

“Hm, doing it with you has made me change my mind.”

“O-oh.”

Experimentally, Inaho had his thumb caress the skin under it, and Slaine jolted.

“D-don’t do that! My hands are sensitive, remember?”

Inaho did, and it was precisely why he’d done it. He’d like to test and see Slaine’s reactions more but they were approaching their work stations. He had another priority at the moment.

“We’ll meet more people soon. We should set down the rules.”

“Rules? What rules?”

“Do you want to keep this relationship a secret from the rest?”

“No! Of course not!”

“I see, I’m glad. And how far are you willing to go in front of them?”

“ _E-excuse me?!”_

Not understanding why Slaine looked so scandalized, he ploughed on. “Let’s start with the hand-holding. You’d rather we let go before others saw, correct?”

“What? Why would I want that?”

“You are usually shy. I assumed you’d rather avoid embarrassing yourself with overt displays of being in a relationship with me.”

“You aren't making any sense. There’s nothing embarrassing about dating you.”

 _Oh_. Inaho found his heart beating faster. “Others...might disagree.”

Slaine squeezed his hand again but shrugged. “That’s their problem for being dumb. Or maybe it’s my luck because it means no competition. Either way, what they think doesn’t really matter. I’m not going to avoid being close to you for such a thing.”

Inaho had been completely wrong about how Slaine would act. He was glad.

***

“What are you doing?”

“Kissing you.”

“With tongue?!  Ms. Claire could come back any minute!”

“Her seeing it was the objective. And I don't understand, didn’t you say you weren't embarrassed about us?”

“There is a difference between feeling awkward about showing people we are together and going beyond decency in public. Kissing like that is one such thing! And what do you mean, you wanted her to see?”

“I wanted to ensure she understood you were taken.”

“I think she took the hint when we came in holding hands!”

“From the way she looked at you, stronger emphasis was necessary.”

“...are you... _jealous?_ ”

“...no,” Inaho said feeling suddenly annoyed.

Slaine burst out laughing, but when the girl came back, he kissed him soundly on the cheek.

***

General reaction fell into what Inaho had expected: it tended to be amused disbelief followed by a slight silent jealousy towards Inaho. Slaine was popular after all.

Not that Inaho particularly cared. As far as he was concerned, only his friends opinions were mildly important, though ultimately they wouldn’t change his feelings either.

*

Asseylum beamed at the news and couldn’t be happier for them.

Eddelrittuo, on the other hand...the girl was torn. It was true that she had wanted this; and now both terrans would bother her mistress less. But…

...maybe it had been a mistake. Slaine might be terran, but he wouldn’t have been too undeserving to be with Her Highness…

He’d been so cool defending her from that Rayet girl, after all...

***

Slaine truly was sensitive in his hands, to Inaho’s delight.

“Nnn, s-stop that!” Slaine wailed feebly and squirmed as Inaho continued kissing every inch of his hand.

“No,” Inaho replied curtly, dropping one hand to start paying attention to the other. Despite his protests, Slaine didn’t offer any resistance.

Fingers, palm and now the back of it were all covered in kisses before Slaine tried pulling away, absolutely flushed and avoiding eye contact.

“Y-you’ve kissed every inch, let go–”

Ignoring him, Inaho decided to see how else he’d react and, lips pressed against the back of his hand, parted them enough to give the skin a small lick.

Slaine chided him, but his reaction seemed lacking.

_So, that doesn’t feel good. Then what about…_

Before Slaine could truly pull away, his lips went to the knuckles…

The way Slaine shuddered as Inaho softly bit one was delicious.

“Y-you’re going to pay for that!” Slaine said, cradling his hand, even though it had been too soft to hurt or leave a mark. He was glaring, but Inaho was too busy paying attention to the way he licked his lips to care.

“I look forward to it.”

*

“... _Slaine_.” It was a miracle that he managed to not stutter.

“Hm? What is it? You should concentrate on the screen, you’re losing.”

He was. For the first time ever, Inaho was doing badly at a simulation.

It was only natural, as Slaine’s vengeance had come in the form of sitting on his lap and nipping at his neck while he practiced.

Slaine’s mouth found his ear while a hand squeezed his upper thigh and Inaho found his brain forgetting to think, much less to remember his hands needed to stay on the controls and not on the boy on top of him.

The screen turned red and told him he failed the mission.

“Oh dear, looks like with that, the highest score is no longer yours,” Slaine stated with pride.

Losing had never felt so good. He put a hand behind Slaine’s head to angle it better for a kiss–

–and found the other boy pulling away and opening the simulator’s cockpit.

“You’re leaving.” In his horrified disbelief, Inaho can’t help but state the obvious.

“Yes. _This_ is my vengeance.”

***

“Inaho, it’s freezing cold! Why are you taking me outside?”

“Just keep your eyes closed like I told you.”

“Can’t you see I am!?”

“No. I have my back to you to pay attention to where I go.”

Slaine sighed in aggravation as he allowed himself to be blindly led by the hand to what seemed like the middle of the outside deck.

Finally, Inaho stopped walking. “Can I open them now?”

“No. You’ll know when to open them.”

“How long will I have to wait?”

“By my calculations based on the information we have… less than a– ah, here we go.”

Impatiently, Slaine waited...and felt something land on him, then another, and another.

It was cold and wet yet more soft than rain…

Memories of his childhood resurfaced as recognition hit him. “Snowflakes?!” Slaine asked, but opened his eyes without waiting for a reply.

“Yes,” Inaho explained as Slaine became transfixed by the falling snow. “The Deucalion will only be under this cloud for five minutes. I thought you’d like to see it even if for a short moment…”

“Thank you.”

***

Marito was happier these days.

Sure now that the two finally came out with their relationship, Slaine and Inaho were more blatant with the PDA, but hey, at least they seemed to have calmed down enough that he stopped catching them trying to have sex in all the wrong places.

Sure, there was that one incident where he caught Slaine about to give Inaho a blowjob and the boy tried excuse it as “I was picking something off the floor, noticed his belt askew and was just fixing it!”, but hey, that was an improvement.

*

“...Inaho?”

“Hm?”

“When Sgt. Marito misunderstood and asked if we had condoms with us...why did you take one out of your pocket?”

“I reasoned he’d leave faster.”

“Why do you even carry that with you?!”

“It’s very resistant rubber that stretches. It might prove useful.”

“...”

“But, since you’re in that position, how about–”

“I-Inaho!”

“...I was going to ask you to tie my shoe.”

“...o-oh, sure!”

“But if you want, we can also do what Marito thought we were–”

“ _No!_ It’s the middle of the corridor!”

“...does that mean if we weren’t in this location–”

“S-shut up! Look at the time, we’re going to be late!”

***

“Slaine, since we’re alone, why don’t we shower together?”

“Wha– oh nonono _no!”_ Slaine managed to hold the door to his stall closed with his body weight against it before Inaho could enter.

“...why not? We have both seen each other unclothed and we are in a relationship–”

“That’s precisely why this wouldn’t be a good idea!”

“...I don’t understand.”

“Ugh! I can’t believe you’re going to make me say it...look! I like you...and your body. Get it?”

“Are you trying to say you won’t manage to avoid gazing and scrutinizing my body?”

“If that was all it'd be fine. I’m saying I might...react to having you so close and like that and uh w-wet.”

“...would you maybe even go as far as slamming me against the wall and kissing me hard?”

Slaine was about to lie by saying he had never thought of going so far, but the tone of Inaho’s voice had been strange. An octave lower, in fact. “...maybe? I-I mean, if you wanted to. And since we’d be in the shower we could...uh...go further because we’d just get cleaned easily after –” he swallowed and stopped, realizing he had gone too far.

For a fearful minute, Inaho was silent. Then–

“...open the door Slaine, or else I’ll _climb_ to get in–”

He didn’t have time to finish before Slaine opened it, hooked an arm around his back and pushed him inside, kissing him.

*

And that was another thing he hadn’t quite expected.

In his daily life, Inaho tended to prefer control. It’s not that he needed to be in charge, but that generally it turned out more efficient when he did so, and having to obey foolish decisions vexed him.

Considering how Slaine tended to be shy and more prudish and just as new at this as he was, Inaho had fully prepared to be the one to have to slowly and carefully move their relationship further.

Pressed hard against the wall, Slaine’s leg between his own, grinding into him as he kissed him hard, Inaho was truly grateful things hadn’t gone according to his calculations.

And then Slaine moved his hand in a way that had Inaho stop thinking at all.

***

“After everyone has gone to bed, can I come sleep with you? And not in a sexual manner, just sharing the bed,” he amended hastily before Slaine could misunderstand.

Despite it, he noticed the negative body language Slaine had before he took in the explanation.

“O-oh. That would be nice actually, any reason?”

“It would be nice is my reason. We don’t have much time during the day to be around each other. Even if it were spent in sleep, I would like more time near you. And given we always wake up before everyone else, no one would even notice it. Unless you are uncomfortable with that?”

“I’m not. Are you worried because of my past? I assure you, having your company would probably make me sleep better than without.”

“Hm. And Slaine, I noticed how you reacted. It’s fine if you don’t want to go so far, now or forever, that’s fine–”

“Forever?! H-hold on a minute! I just don’t like the thought of going so far in such a non private space–-”

“Ah, if that’s the issue, don’t worry, I agree. I’ve been researching intercourse–”

“Oh, God no…”

“And I read that–”

“I sincerely trust you and _don’t want to know!”_

“...but–”

“Just tell me your conclusion in the most general and summarized terms you can!”

“...I think, given we are aboard a military ship, without privacy or time...it would be unwise to initiate such things for the first time.”

“I’m glad we had this conversation, but I can’t believe we had it so...clinically.”

“While I find it hard to believe you would react this much to having it, considering how...inhibited you were earlier when we went as far as–”

“ _Orange!”_

***

Slaine thought he’d be more nervous about it, but he found he was...serene. By the time everyone was no longer awake and Inaho arrived, he was dozing off.

Wordlessly, Inaho nudged him and he moved to give Inaho some space. The bed was narrow but neither minded.

Still silently, Inaho found his hand in the dark and held it as they fell asleep.

***

The hand caressing his hair was nice and he was loath to ruin the current mood, but there was a question he couldn’t let go of.

“May I ask a personal question?” Inaho asked, shifting so that his head, currently on Slaine’s lap as they enjoyed the outside deck, was looking up at the other’s face.

“I will regret this...but alright.”

“You are aware you like women because you initially had romantic feelings for Seylum, correct?”

“...yes.”  Slaine looked slightly wary as he replied, and Inaho assumed he must have an inkling to where the conversation was going.

“Would it be prying too much to inquiry on the man you must have had a crush on too?”

“Why do you want to know? You must realize I’ve never dated anyone before you.”

 _Perhaps changing position to look at Slaine wasn’t a very good idea_ , Inaho thinks as he turns again so he can avoid eye contact. “I’m just...curious.”

“You idiot,” Slaine said with a sigh. “I don’t know if you’re just jealous or trying to find a pattern in who I like, but either way it’s useless and there’s nothing for you to worry about. I know I like men too because there were martians I thought were attractive. What I...feel for you is...beyond just physical attraction. I haven’t felt this way for anyone else. My feelings for Her Highness–”

“It’s fine, I have no intention of competing with–”

“You wouldn’t be able to. They’re completely different types of feelings. But...”

There was a pause, and Inaho could feel Slaine’s hesitation by the way his body became taught.

“But...not...that is, you can't measure these things but, but if one could then…”

Inaho took the hand in his hair and moved it to his mouth to kiss it softly. “I understand.”

“...you do?”

“I have a sister. How I feel towards you two is very different, yet by now I know I have the same strength of feeling for you both. I love you.”

“...I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \\(//∇//)\
> 
> Chapters will likely be as short (around 2k to 3k) from hereon
> 
> Due to things I plan on doing, next chapter may be delayed, but its not certain yet
> 
> In case some missed it, I realized that some of you might now have tumblrs. Or check mine. There have been some awesome fanart for this fic, including the whole confession scene as a comic. They can be found [here](http://fabelyn.tumblr.com/tagged/fwoan/)


	17. [ - - - ]

Magbaredge decided maybe having Inaho and Slaine grow close wasn't such a good idea after all.

They hadn’t fully stopped arguing over disparaging views...but now they did so while giving each other looks that made her expect them to begin making out at any moment, despite the audience.

“Enough,” she said finally. “Kaizuka Junior’s suggestion is the best course of action, I believe, but Slaine has a point I will take into consideration. Now that’s over with, I have a task for both of you.”

Slaine stood to attention, Kaizuka Junior raised an eyebrow.

“Our supplies are dwindling. We never had enough for such a long journey, and while the fish we caught on that beach helped, it’ll run out soon.”

The boys glanced at each other, their relationship so advanced apparently they could exchange words with looks. Amazing, given Kaizuka Junior’s blank features.

“You want us to give our opinion on where it’s best to land for more fishing?” Slaine asked, frowning.

“No. We’ve already decided on what to do,” Marito finally spoke from where he was leaning against the wall.

Before either boy could ask more, Magbaredge moved to the map the crew had done of their current area. “We’ve picked up an abandoned town an hour away, with an open field next to it where the Deucalion can land. I want you to explore and see if you can find supplies in the town.”

“There’s a reason you want us specifically for this,” Inaho said, stating not questioning.

“...yes.” Magbaredge hesitated and carefully watched Slaine as she said her piece. “This should be a short mission, and the less people the better so as not to call attention in case enemies are around that we haven’t detected. You both have shown prowess with weapons, I hear your physical skills are also one of the best in the crew, Kaizuka Junior is the best strategist we have and Slaine also has a good head on his shoulders-”

“That’s all true, but there’s something else, more specific, that has made you pick us,” Inaho interrupted.

The Captain frowned and willed down her annoyance. “Yes, I was getting to it. Considering your...involvement in certain events and the skills I've just mentioned, you were the best choice for this. That is...because I want Rayet Areash to accompany you.”

As expected, Slaine’s face immediately turned thunderous, but as he opened his mouth to voice his complaint, Kaizuka grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear. Slaine remained bristling, but calmed down a little.

“Why?” he asked and, considering his usual respectful demeanor towards authority, the tone felt like an order.

“She helped start all our current troubles, and for that, it’s my duty to hand her over for judgement. However...she has also aided us. Those inside the Deucalion wouldn't be alive without her help. And yet...she nearly jeopardized us again in a fit of rage…” Magbaredge drew a breath. “My point is…”

“She wants to give the girl a chance to escape,” Marito finished for her.

Kaizuka looked thoughtful, but Slaine was staring at her in sheer disbelief so she explained. “This place is too far from any UFE base. She will not be able to follow us, or even know which direction to go, so even if she is taken by martians again, she won’t be able to help them locate us. Besides, a life completely separate from other human beings, in a destroyed land she has never been to...it isn’t exactly a reward. In a way, regardless of her choice, she will be punished.”

“I see. We both are known to be good at self-defense, and we both saw the extent of what Rayet might do, so we’re the safest choice for escorts,” Inaho surmised, then glanced at Slaine. “Give us an hour to consider this thoroughly-”

“There’s no need,” Slaine said abruptly. He sighed and turned back to Inaho, looking tired. “Unless you need to reflect on it, an hour isn’t necessary. Not for my sake. I’ll do it.”

Magbaredge studied his face; it was clear he didn't like it, but he seemed set enough that he wouldn’t back out at the last second. Satisfied, she said, “Good. Kaizuka Junior?”

“...I have no objections,” he replied, attention wholly on Slaine, blatantly trying to read him.

“We’ll land in an hour. I’ll send someone to give you detailed instructions soon.” It was a relief to know both would be going. As much of a nuisance as their current physical intimacy was, they still worked too well together for her to want to separate them. And speaking of which… “But before I allow you two to leave, there’s one more thing.” She cleared her throat and wished Marito wasn’t there. This was embarrassing. “It has come to my...to _everyone’s_ … attention you two are now in a relationship.”

“It would be worrying if they hadn’t managed to come to that conclusion by now,” Inaho said, face expressionless as usual. Slaine tensed and flushed but didn’t look embarrassed. Magbaredge continued, pretending he hadn’t spoken. “Now, there’s nothing wrong about it, but I just want to...prevent future issues by reminding you two that there is a time and place for certain things-”

A chortle from Marito interrupted her, and Magbaredge turned questioningly to the man now trying to stifle some chuckles behind his hand. “Is something the matter?”

“N-not at all Captain! I just think considering what _you_ ’ve seen, there’s no reason for that kind of warning.”

“Well yes, but as the relationship grows closer, it’s expected that their intimacy grows-”

Marito snorted again, and hastily apologized. “Sorry. I’m sure you won't have to worry about that. I think...by now they know what to do and where, right boys?” He gave them a wink that had Slaine turning crimson.

“Sir, please, we’ve already explained-” Slaine began, looking completely mortified.

“Say no more. My lips are sealed.”

Magbaredge was about to ask just exactly was going on, but Inaho, seemingly bored with the exchange as if he’d heard it before, grabbed Slaine’s hand and nudged him towards the door. “We already know this is pointless, and I think the Captain is done with us, come,” he told him as the left.

It took Magbaredge a minute to realize she hadn’t actually dismissed them. She sighed and considered demanding Marito explain himself but changed her mind; she had a feeling she was better off not knowing.

***

“Why haven’t you asked me yet?” Slaine said carefully, five minutes after they left Captain Magbaredge, walking in silence.

Inaho didn’t bother acting like he wasn’t aware of what Slaine meant. “I was contemplating how and when to ask, since this is a delicate subject for you.”

“Thank you, but just do it already.” Their hands were still intertwined.

“You so easily accepting the situation regarding Rayet was unexpected. What are you thinking?”

“...I thought...I thought maybe it’s best if she _does_ escape. Even if she does somehow meet up with martians again...she won’t know where we went. And if she doesn’t, it might take weeks or months before she manages to meet terrans again. The isolation might be a good punishment. But more importantly, the more distance between her and Her Highness the better.”

“I thought you’d rather prefer that she be properly judged and punished.”

“I do! But...let’s face it: Her Highness will probably perjure herself before letting anyone be punished because of her–”

“Interesting. You think Seylum is capable of lying?”

“...I think so, if she feels it’s to do the right thing and protect someone. You don’t?”

“I have seen her do it. I was just surprised you thought of her like that. I apologize for interrupting, go on.”

“My feelings for her are totally warranted and not at all rooted in any kind of illusions! If you truly payed attention to her, you too would give her your undying–”

“We don’t have much time. Rayet?”

“...this isn’t over, we’ll talk later. Anyway, so I think there is a chance Rayet will serve a smaller sentence than she should, or even walk free. Not to mention, the longer she stays around Asseylum, the more chance she has to attack her again. Letting her go far away is the safest bet.”

“And if she doesn’t choose to leave?”

“Then I will see to it she has no chance of further harming Her Highness and gets her just deserves, one way or another.”

“Hm.”

“Is that it? No objections?”

“You think I would object?”

Slaine stopped walking and turned to look at Inaho, trying to read his face despite knowing it was a futile effort. “You never seem to have any feelings towards this. You aren’t angry at her...but you aren’t defending her like Her Highness does. Where do you stand in this?”

Inaho seemed to hesitate before replying. “If I defend Rayet...would you terminate our relationship?”

Slaine blinked, then chuckled. “Oh wow, of _course_ not. I might argue with whatever argument you come up with, but break it off with you? Never.”

Inaho’s lips twitched upwards for a moment. “Good. My opinion in this is that...I don’t really care.”

“What?!”

“Rayet was not the mastermind behind the assassination attempt that started everything. Given her age and how long this must have been planned...doubtlessly she was dragged into this by her family and not out of her own volition, so I cannot be angry over that. Especially since she had her comeuppance through the murder of her family.”

Inaho paused to see if Slaine had any interjection to make. When none came, he continued. “After that, she has saved us all by helping in the fights against martians. Her murder attempt was really just an act of withholding aid, which still makes her guilty but isn’t as serious. Furthermore, it was clearly not a normal act, but something born out of the stress and grief of her situation. She did show enough remorse to take Seylum’s body from underneath the water, if nothing else. Thus, I think with time and proper counseling she won’t do it again. And she has done enough good things and enough bad ones that I hold no ill will but see no issue with her being properly judged and punished.”

“Oh, okay then, I’m glad,”

Silence. Until…

“Wait, if you aren’t defending her, why did you ask if I’d break up with you?”

“I was testing you.”

“... _Orange!_ ”

***

A crewmember explained the situation and told her to wait until her escorts arrived. Which was fine with Rayet; she had some reflecting to do.

Apparently this mission was to test her trustworthiness. She didn't see the point in that; unless Asseylum was one of the escorts, going to a supply run and coming back without murdering anyone wouldn't prove a thing.

 _Maybe they just think really low of me_ , Rayet thought, and tried to not be hurt about it. Regardless, even if the reason was stupid, she had no desire to refuse it. Despite claiming she enjoyed the peace and quiet of her improvised cell, the loneliness and cramped quarters were getting to her, and the martian wanted any time out of it she could.

_And maybe I will even manage to escape…_

Except...did she even want that? Doubtlessly they’d land in some abandoned place in the middle of nowhere. Even if she managed to run away, there was nowhere and no one to go to, and no chance of carrying on her revenge outside of the military. Maybe it was best if she simply obeyed.

“They’re here,” Her guard yelled from outside, and her door was opened…

She blinked, rubbed her eyes and stared.

The fact that Inaho and Slaine would be the ones to accompany her wasn’t surprising; they were the best choice considering their history with her and their skills.

What was extremely surprising, however, was that they were holding hands.

Rayet tried to compose herself but it was too late; both noticed what she was looking fixedly at and Slaine even stopped glaring at her enough to chuckle.

It sounded mocking. Defensive and confused, she blurted out, “What the hell happened while I was locked away?”

***

Even Inaho could see her frustration, though Rayet acted as if she wasn’t, and refused to ask any questions.

He’d told her the obvious; that he and Slaine were going out, but didn’t go into details despite how clearly she wanted him to as Inaho saw no reason why she should know.

And Slaine, normally the one to go into detail when Inaho refused, wasn’t at all forthcoming, for once. It was likely that he, being much better than Inaho at reading people, had also figured out Rayet wanted details –though Inaho couldn’t fathom why she would– and as petty revenge refused to give them to her and Rayet, in her silly pride, refused to even ask.

Petty revenge and petty pride. Rayet and Slaine were, in some ways, similar, but Inaho knew better than to ever voice that thought.

The Deucalion landed, and as soon as Slaine stepped foot outside, his attention was diverted.

“Snow!” he gushed, but before Inaho could fully appreciate the way his face lit up, his expression crumpled again. “This isn’t the time. I need to focus…”

“The whole are is filled with snow, you’ll see it enough,” Inaho said in an attempt to alleviate him. When it proved ineffective, he tried again, “And you’ll have time to appreciate it more when we return.” Even if Rayet didn't leave them, the Deucalion would likely still take some time to depart after they came back with supplied. It would give them enough time to enjoy the scenery.

Slaine smiled a little. “I guess. But I want a snowball fight. O–or building a snowman?”

Inaho couldn't help smiling and kissed his boyfriend’s hand. “My friends are better at snow fights than I am, but the snowman I can help you with.”

Blushing slightly at the kiss, Slaine stuttered, “P–promise?”

“Yes, I do.”

A catcall from Rayet called them back to reality and they went to her as she clambered inside their vehicle.

*

The full plan was thus: the Deucalion had spotted a sufficiently large field where it could land, next to a farm. Said farm had a vehicle. Should it prove operational, they were to take it and drive to the nearby town, forage for supplies and return. The nearest town was twenty minutes away by car and thus too from Deucalion’s radar. They would be alone.

Despite that, neither boy had been given a gun. They’d agreed to it; Magbaredge had explained Rayet might steal any weapons, but in unarmed combat they’d win.

*

“Okay, looks like it’s working and there’s enough on the tank,” Rayet said when they managed to turn on the vehicle. “Who’s driving?”

“For now, you are,” Inaho replied levelly.

The girl snorted. “You want to keep me in check by making sure my hands are busy? You _do_ realize I could just steer the thing into a wall, right?”

“Dr. Yagarai said your mental state is not leaning towards suicide, so you wouldn’t try something so risky.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and obediently took the driver's seat while Inaho took the front passenger’s one. As she adjusted things, she listened to the two boys talking.

“Inaho, do you know how to drive a car?”

“Yes, although I’m still too young to be able to do without military clearance. What about you? I assume you don’t.”

“You’re right. Unless the controls are similar to those of kats...I don’t.”

“I can teach you later.”

There was laughter from Slaine. “A snowball fight, a snowman and now driving lessons? Inaho, we won’t have time to do all of it unless Deucalion stays around for a day.”

“I’ll think up a schedule. If it’s not viable, we can leave the driving lessons for another time, but I promise I’ll do it.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

Slaine moved to the edge of his seat behind Inaho’s and reached out a hand to his shoulder, squeezing affectionately. Inaho actually smiled and covered the hand with his own in return.

 _Maybe I’m hallucinating all this and I’m still in my cell_ , Rayet thought, and pressed the pedal.

***

“Are you going to give me the evil eye the whole way?”

“I’m simply staring at you to make sure you don’t do anything suspicious,” Slaine snapped back.

“There’s a difference between staring and silently wishing I’d drop dead.”

“A difference that exists by your own fault.”

“You are never going to get over it, are you?”

“Why should I?”

“Didn’t say you should. It’s just funny considering you’re all lovey dovey with the guy that shot you down, and yet–”

“He shot me down through a misunderstanding–”

“And if you ask that doctor, he’ll say I refused to help that girl because I was confused and stressed out.”

“It’s still different! Despite the danger to my life, it still worked out, since Inaho brought me to Her Highness and helped me–”

“Oh? So if he hadn't taken you aboard you’d want revenge?”

“Of course!”

“Even shoot him back?”

The question caught him by surprise, and Slaine answered hesitantly, “...depending on circumstances...I...I don't know...maybe…”

Rayet chuckled. “I can’t imagine you shooting him. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Do you realize how hypocritical this is?”

“...how so?”

“You say Inaho and I are different because he redeemed himself. Well, how the hell would I ever do that?”

“You wish to atone?” Inaho asked.

Rayet shrugged. “It doesn't matter if I do or not. I won’t have a chance to do it, will I? From the Deucalion I’ll be transferred to yet another cell, and then judged, and then imprisoned again. Basically the only reason you hate me but look at Inaho lovingly is luck.”

“No,” Inaho interjected, frowning slightly. “Not luck, but my actions. I shot him, yes. However I also rationalized the only intelligent way to proceed was take him aboard. You allowed Seylum to drown, but rather than repent and attempt to bring her back to life when you had the chance, you did nothing but remove her from the water. And I only harmed his skycarrier to begin with because he was threatening me, whereas you allowed Seylum to slowly drown as you watched and did nothing even though she hadn’t threatened or harmed you in any way. If your family was killed, it was because of their own actions and Seylum has only ever been the victim in your hands. You are in your present situation because you erred not once, but twice, and since the second time was due to psychological issues and not rational motivation...there is no reason why anyone should trust you near her again if they can avoid it. Don’t compare us.”

“...I know…” Rayet said in a small voice, staring fixedly at the way ahead as she drove. “I know it’s my fault and she didn't do anything. It’s just...ugh, never mind.”

Silence fell for a few minutes, until…

“But I’m wondering…would you forgive me if I somehow saved the princess?”

“Why is this so important?”

“Humor me.”

“...yes. Depending on circumstances obviously if you protected her life I would no longer bear a grudge against you. Why–”

“What if it was Inaho?”

“...if Inaho saved her?”

“No, if _I_ saved _him_.”

Slaine frowned in confusion, but Inaho stiffened, understanding what her goal was. “Stop it,” he told her.

“Stop what? It’s an innocent question.”

“You want to know the extent of his feelings for me through a comparison through Seylum.”

“Why are you annoyed about it? Don't you want to know who he likes the most?”

“No.”

“Why not? Scared he’ll choose–”

“I don't want to know because he’s already told me the answer. And even if he hadn’t, I don't like you forcing-”

“It’s fine,” Slaine interrupted placatingly, once more placing a hand on Inaho’s shoulder. “She’s not really forcing me into it. And I don't have an issue with answering it either.” He turned to Rayet. “If you saved Inaho, I would be too grateful to be mad at you. But since that wouldn't prove you’re no longer a threat to Her Highness, I still wouldn’t trust you near her.”

Rayet has no comeback and they continued on in silence again.

***

“We’re almost there,” Inaho stated.

“Yeah, I can see,” Rayet replied, but with no bite to it. “Hey, just wondering, but what’s the point of this? I mean, it doesn’t really test my trustworthiness since my problem was with the princess alone.”

Inaho and Slaine shared a look and the blond spoke up. “You mean they didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

The two looked at each again, as if silently communicating, and finally Inaho answered. “This is a chance for you to escape.”

“...what?”

“For services rendered, the Captain felt if you wish to escape you are allowed to. If you run, we won’t attempt to retrieve you.”

“The vengeful blond in the backseat agreed to it?”

Slaine crossed his arms. “I don’t like the thought of you evading justice, but if it means putting more distance between you and Her Highness...then so be it.”

“And if I choose to go back?”

Inaho answered this time. “You may do so. But you will be brought to justice.”

“...this place is completely empty and in the middle of nowhere.”

“There’s water and food and transportation. You would survive.”

 _But it would be wretched and lonely,_ Rayet nearly replied, but stopped herself from doing so. She had no intention of showing weakness and besides, it was clear they were well aware and fine with her ‘freedom’ being miserable.

She could not, _would_ not beg them to let her back in, but…

“I’m not leaving. Who knows, maybe whoever judges me might think I’m better off killing martians than rotting in a cell. I don't want to miss any chance of that.” It wasn’t a lie.

Neither boy answered, and they reached the main street of the town.

“We’ll have to stop here and keep going on foot,” Slaine pointed out with a sigh as they were forced to stop, seeing how the place had rubble from destroyed houses and stores littering the streets, making it impossible for a car to pass.

Rayet shrugged and parked the car under a tree to make it invisible from the sky. As they hopped off, Inaho took the keys. “Since you might yet change your mind about what to do, I’ll keep these,” he explained.

“Whatever, I already said I’m not leaving. So, where to now? I want to split up since I’d rather stretch my legs without Slaine’s eyes boring into my back. Since you two don’t trust me-”

“I trust you.”

“...alright, since your _boyfriend_ doesn’t trust me, not having to look at me should be better, right?”

Inaho considered it, then nodded. “I have nothing against this, since splitting up will lessen the time we need to spend here. Let’s decide on a time to meet up again, as well as directions.”

“Sure.”

“You’re fine with that?” Slaine asked, bewildered. “Aren't you worried we might leave without you?”

Rayet looked at him. “You’re a vengeful guy and you distrust me. Which I don’t blame you for. But…” she bit her lips and looked at the scenery to avoid his eyes. “Neither of you is a bad guy. Even if you want me gone, you won’t simply abandon me here if I want to go back. I trust you two.”

***

“You’re having second thoughts about Rayet,” Inaho asserted as the two entered another store to see if there was anything worth taking.

“N–no I’m not!”

“It’s obvious you are. Don’t make that face; it’s only normal that you can’t hold your hatred for long.”

“...I still don’t trust her. Or forgive her for what she did. If I could, I’d still seek retribution…”

“But you like her. You were her friend before everything happened.”

“This isn't about me. Right now...yes interacting with her again is reminding me I did like her, once. But it doesn’t change my mind about what she deserves.”

Inaho looked at him sharply. “So you’re saying even if you like her, you would still make her pay for harming Seylum?”

“Of course.”

“...that’s worrying.”

“Why?”

“It means you still feel low enough about yourself that you disregard your own feelings and wishes for the sake of protecting Seylum.”

“It’s not putting myself down, but her above me. As she should be.” Slaine could see his answer bothered Inaho, so he changed the subject before the other could initiate an argument. “This bag is already full again. It’s my turn to take it back to the car, you keep searching here until I come back.”

“Fine.”

***

Groggily, the man woke up and immediately reached for more juice.

 _Damn the terrans for having all these tasty things so easily,_ he cursed as he drank another one down. And damn that he hadn’t managed to find any of that so called ‘alcohol’ he’d heard was awesome.

Still, this was better than nothing, especially in the present situation….

They’d been at this stupid foray for weeks. The Count was an obsessed lunatic, clearly.

As if fatigue and boredom weren't enough, his current partner had somehow failed to do proper maintenance in his own skycarrier and it broke down.

The man had had half a mind to abandon him and go back to the Landing Castle and tell them of his idiocy –given his own machine was superior and capable of flight as well- but the place they’d landed had actually food still around and he saw his chance to try out some terran stuff while the idiot fixed his own machine.

He’d stuffed himself so much he’d taken a nap and was only now waking up.

As drowsiness left him, he caught movement outside the window.

_Did he finally fucking finish?_

The man moved so he was next to the glass and looked outside…

He furiously rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, not believing his sight. But no; looking again only showed him the same thing.

Walking past was the damn traitorous terran boy they’d been searching for all this time.

His first instinct was to run outside and grab him, but he refrained; the boy had managed to escape everyone in the Landing Castle, the man might get hurt…

He _could_ shoot him but...Count Cruhteo would be more pleased if the traitor was brought back alive for interrogation.

Head filled with the thoughts of his reward, the man went the other way, towards where he’d hidden his machine.

He realized too late he should have waited and seen where the boy was going. But no matter; the place was small, he’d flush him out eventually…

***

They were in their tenth location when they heard the sound of something exploding nearby.

In unison, they rushed to the window, but made sure to stay low to remain unseen from outside.

There was a martian kataphrakt on the street, gleefully blowing things up.

"Oh no." Slaine paled.

"You recognize that kat," Inaho surmised. As if to answer him, a voice called out.

"Heeey little ungrateful terran rat, Count Cruhteo really misses you, you know? Why don't you just do us all a favor and come out. Or not, I mean, I _like_ playing hide and seek." There were the sound of shots, and something far off exploded. "Of course I might _accidently_ kill you while searching, and that would be just so bad, wouldn't it?"

Inaho's head spun with a million thoughts rushing through as he tried to figure out how they could escape. "Considering his location and the direction he’s heading, if we just go back from where we came from he won't see us."

"He knows I'm here. If he doesn't find me soon he'll widen the search and call the Landing Castle."

"By then, considering Rayet and the car aren't too far away, we should have already reached the Deucalion-"

"If the Landing Castle is near, it'll deploy all personnel. Even Count Cruhteo himself might come. The Deucalion will not manage to keep out of their radars, or outrun them for ever, especially considering how long it’ll take us to reach it."

"I suppose. Then, the best ways to kill this guy are–"

"No."

Inaho blinked and finally turned to Slaine upon hearing the strange answer, his brain now registering that Slaine's voice had been...eerily emotionless. "No? What do you suggest, then?"

Slaine turned to him, and the expression on his face made Inaho's hair stand on end: for a moment the blond looked like he was between crying and laughing...and then his face went completely blank. "I will surrender, of course."

Dread settled in his stomach. "As a ruse?"

"As a means to buy you all time, obviously. Martian rank isn't decided by skill or intellect, but by politics and favors, so those in power aren’t necessarily skilled or very smart. So long as Cruhteo has me, it'll take him a while before he figures out I must have had help to reach this far. By then you will have found Rayet, gone back to the Deucalion and be too far to be caught."

"And what about you?"

Slaine's answering shrug and rueful smile was too much.

"No! We can attack him–"

"Us two? With no weapons at all against a kataphrakt? We'll most likely die."

"I can–"

"And even if we somehow managed to succeed...Cruhteo would learn about it quickly, and deploy everyone in his power _and_ his allies before we had time to run off. What will buy the Deucalion the most time is distracting the martians by giving them what they want. Besides, they only saw me; revealing yourself will add to the risk of them realizing there might be more people around. So long as you don't, they won't make it a priority to look for others."

"Then, we can make it seem like he died in an accident–"

"Stop it. You're grasping at straws, and that's just not like you. You're very, very smart, Inaho. You must have realized by now, right? This is the only way..."

"No, it isn't! I've just told you the other options!"  

It didn't escape his notice he was the one being overemotional while the other revealed nothing, wearing only small resigned smile and dead eyes. It's just another proof the situation was wrong, wrong, wrong.

"They all have risks I'm not willing to take. Calm down and think; the chances of those working out are slim to none, so I still choose this way, since success is almost certain."

"Success?! How could this be a success? What do you think will happen to you if they take you?"

Slaine hesitated but ultimately replied begrudgingly, "They'll question me. I'll reveal nothing, of course. But regardless of what I answer...in the end I'll be killed."

"If you realize that, then why are you so easily accepting this option?"

"Because you, and Her Highness and everyone else _lives_!" Slaine hissed back, before composing himself. "In every other option, your and everyone else's lives are at stake. If I honestly surrender while you leave, then at least you will be ok, and that, to me, is success."

"Slaine...to me that's a nightmare."

The other sighed and looked to the sky with a small smile.

"When I think about it, this was inevitable, wasn't it? This is what would have happened if you hadn't taken me aboard."

"So that makes this _acceptable_?"

"It makes fate bearable. Though I guess now you're probably regretting not just leaving me behind back then."

"No. Never. And I don't see how it makes it better for you. Doesn't it hurt, knowing-"

"Of course it does. But it makes it ok too, don't you see? If this is how it ends no matter what, then at least I will have had the time spent in the Deucalion. Had you not taken me aboard and instead Cruhteo captured me right after Tanegashima, I'd have died an useless death; but now I can die for all of you, and die knowing what true happiness really is, thanks to you."

Inaho felt a lump in his throat, he stepped forward and grabbed Slaine's shoulders. "You know what I feel about you, you can't possibly think I can let you go like this."

Slaine's smile turned genuine but sad for a moment, and he lifted his hands and took off his pendant. "You have to. Here." He put it around Inaho's neck, his fingers brushing against Inaho's skin much more than should be necessary.

"To give to Seylum?"

"No, for you to keep, so you are safe," Slaine replied lightly, and kissed him.

It didn't waver Inaho's resolve, quite the contrary. He grabbed Slaine's wrists with an iron grip "We go together, or we don't go. I'm not letting you leave."

"Inaho, let go."

"No."

"Inaho...you need to warn the Deucalion..."

"I can't lose you."

"But you would lose Yuki?"

Inaho froze, his whole body feeling icy cold as the blood drained from his face. “Slaine...Slaine don't..."

"Inaho, your sister-"

"Bat, _please._ "

"She will most likely die if we don't do it this way."

And now that it was said, Inaho's brain could not ignore the obvious. He felt faint, but didn't lessen his hold. "I...I can't make this choice..."

"It's _my_ choice. I choose the path that will most likely protect you all. If you don't let me do this, you will risk the lives of Her Highness, Inko, Calm, Nina, your _sister_ , all of the crew, as well as your own and mine, whereas going along with what I’ve decided gives you minimum loss."

It was true, which didn’t make it any better. Inaho felt sick to his stomach with the weight of it, and his strength left enough that Slaine managed to free himself of his grip and step back.

"I'm glad you came to your senses. It means the world to me that you were so stubborn, It _does_ ," his voice trembled on a verge of sob for a second before going back to being stone cold. "But this has wasted too much time. So now, ready or not, Inaho Kaizuka, Orange, for your friends and for your sister... _run_ , and don't look back."

Still Inaho couldn't move.

"Inaho..." and now Slaine lost all self-control, voice breaking. " _Please._ Please don't let this be in vain."

And before anything else could be done, Slaine stepped out from their hiding place and ran outside in full view and making noise, pretending to be trying to escape him while easily drawing his attention.

Years of not letting his emotions control him allowed Inaho to, faltering, run off in the opposite direction.

***

Rayet wasn’t near the car.

If she was still in the area they had assigned her...he’d meet with her on the way.

Inaho hoped she hadn’t deviated from the plan despite the destruction going on; he didn't want to leave her, but he wouldn’t waste another second of Slaine’s sacrifice looking for her. He couldn’t afford to.

He rushed towards the car–

–Something hit him on the back of his head, hard, and he fell to the ground, eyesight blurry with pain.

“Don’t make any sudden movements, scum, I have a gun,” someone said above him.

 _Why did you hit me over the head with what I assume is the gun then? Wouldn’t it have been smarter to shoot me outright or just press it to my back?_ Inaho didn’t dare say anything; this wasn’t the time to rile his attacker.

“Boy, and here I thought today was going to be a bad day. I guess it was lucky my skycarrier malfunctioned since it means I get to kill a terran.”

_So there are at least two martians. This is bad._

Slowly and carefully, with his hands in the air, Inaho stood up again, facing the martian that had a gun currently trained on him.

There was a dull, throbbing ache in the back of his head and his vision still swam a little…

...but he could focus well enough to see Rayet quietly sneaking up on the martian, a large rock in her hand.

“Okay, before I kill you, tell me: are there oth–”

Rayet smashed the rock on his head before he could finish, and the martian crumpled to the ground.

Inaho didn’t waste time, going back to walking towards the car.

“What the hell is going on?!” Rayet demanded, following him. It showed how stressed she was focused on Inaho and not the martian.

“No time. Get in,” Inaho said curtly and quickly as opened the nearest door and got in; it was the passenger seat, which was fine, since in his state Rayet would be a better driver. “There are more martians and a landing Castle. We need to warn the Deucalion.”

“Where is Slaine?!” Rayet asked, seating herself in the driver’s seat.

Inaho swallowed thickly. “He sacrificed himself as a distraction. Now mov–no, let’s take the martian.”

“Why? Information?”

“That too. But he hurt me, and there’s a chance I may still lose conscious. If I do so, you’ll need proof that you are telling the truth, as the others might think you’re lying and did something to us.” As he explained, he got out of the car and walked back to the body–

It could be the stress. It could be the emotional and physical pain he was currently feeling. Perhaps it was all of that. Either way, somehow in his hurry it never dawned on Inaho to verify if the martian was truly knocked out.

Or to take his gun.

When Inaho approached, the man lifted his upper body from the ground and shot at him.

It missed, but gave the martian enough time to stand up again.

Inaho knew trying to reach him and fight would be futile, and his chances of reaching the car alive were also slim…

He turned his head, intent on ordering Rayet to drive away…

There was the sound of another gunshot.

Pain seared his eye and he knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -There were many words that would fit as the title...but none I felt were strong enough for all the changes that occur, so i left it titleless.
> 
> -Next chapter is called Wanweird, but you guys already figured that out, I should think. I did consider using that title for this one but...technically the flashfoward was when Inaho woke up again and that scene isnt here. Also, had i called it wanweird, you guys would know what was coming a mile away.
> 
> -Or not. I had fun (sorry) watching people wonder why Slaine would shoot Inaho. Honestly when i thought of doing this fic, the plan was to avoid Inaho getting shot but his eye machine is too relevant. Someone needed to shoot him, and my plot didnt make sense for it to be Slaine. Since he was getting captured by Cruhteo anyway, I had Inaho lose his eye now. Which actually helps because [spoilers]. Sorry (not really) for that. Was this more tragic or better than what you all expected?
> 
> -Not sure how many chapters are left pertaining to the first cour but...definitely less than five, probably.
> 
> -i wanted Slaine to be more forgiving but...considering what he did to Saazbaum and why...yeah he isnt. at all.
> 
> -In case anyone forgot since it's been so long: crugteo changed his route and sent people ins earch for Slaine, hence why his underlings were there.
> 
> -Unbetaed since I took too long to finish this chapter


	18. Wanweird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanweird: misfortune; ill or unhappy fate.

_"Stop it. You're grasping at straws, and that's just not like you. You're very, very smart, Inaho. You must have realized by now, right? This is the only way..."_

_"No, it isn't! I've just told you the other options!"_  

_It didn't escape his notice he was the one being overemotional while the other revealed nothing, wearing only a small resigned smile and dead eyes. It's just another proof the situation was wrong, wrong, wrong._

_"They all have risks I'm not willing to take. Calm down and think; the chances of those working out are slim to none, so I still choose this way, since success is almost certain."_

_"Success?! How could–"_

There were times people would wake up and for a few moments not recall what happened before they lost consciousness.

Inaho did not have that mercy.  

He regained consciousness with his heart beating fast, recalling everything: the Kats, Slaine, the gun aimed at his head...Slaine.

The sound of the gunshot still echoed in his ear.

The boy opened his eyes and immediately noticed one of them had been bandaged over.

_I see...I survived because the shot only went through my eye..._

He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light and the loss of depth that came with now having only half his sight, and focused on the ceiling and wall to his right.

_This is the Deucalion's medic bay..._

Meaning Rayet had made it, and Yuki and the others were probably safe. The fact that it all hadn't been in vain brought him momentary relief.

 _Better to concentrate on that and not on..._ but it was impossible; his thoughts didn't stray from Slaine for more than a second before painfully going back to him.

It certainly didn't help that the last time he'd been laid on this bed had been when _–_

That made it all the worse.

Trying to focus on anything but _him_ , Inaho tested his body; he felt sore all over but concluded the bullet to his head had hit no nerve, as he seemed to still be able to move all his limbs.

With difficulty, he lifted a hand to reach out and examine a strange weight on his chest. When it met with a familiar circular object he couldn't help but suck in a breath and grasp it tightly.

Slaine's pendant; still around his neck where the owner had last put it.

 _They probably thought leaving this with me would bring some comfort._ Inaho thought bitterly. Still, even if it didn’t have the use they intended for, he had no desire to be parted from the object.

It was probably his last memento of Slaine after all.

He turned his head to his now blind left side and saw someone he hadn't been aware of yet: Yuki, sleeping on a chair next to his bedside.

His sister wasn't one to easily sleep anywhere, meaning she must have been really stressed out to manage to rest sitting up like that. Unsurprisingly, given Inaho must have survived with some difficulty considering the severe lack of specialized medical equipment they had onboard.

His first instinct was to let her have her sleep, but...

_"When I think about it, this was inevitable, wasn't it? This is what would have happened if you hadn't taken me aboard."_

_"So that makes this_ acceptable _?"_

_"It makes fate bearable. Though I guess now you're probably regretting not just leaving me behind back then."_

_"No. Never. And I don't see how it makes it better for you. Doesn't it hurt, knowing–"_

_"Of course it does. But it makes it okay too, don't you see? If this is how it ends no matter what, then at least I–"_

"Yuki," he called out, and found his voice was hoarse. With effort, he managed to sit up enough to reach out and nudge her.  

Yuki jolted awake. She blinked, looking around in disorientation for a few seconds before landing her eyes on her brother.

"Inaho!" she gasped out, looking teary with relief.

Inaho was not about to let her have her moment; there was a reason he didn't allow her to rest.

Before, he had always wondered what motivated people when they asked questions they knew the answer to. What was the point? Were they hoping if they asked others they'd hear a different answer?

He hadn't understood before. But now...now he had a question on his lips and he knew what the answer _should_ be but even so....he needed to confirm it.

"Slaine?" he rasped out.

Yuki's expression was all the answer he needed, and feared.

He didn't cry, but emotion overtook him. He could hear his blood rushing and his vision grew faint as his heart beat rapidly. His hand dug into the locket almost painfully.

"Inaho!" Yuki called out in alarm, and she seemed so far away now...

Inaho didn’t reply _–_ he couldn’t _–_ nor did he try to fight the oncoming darkness.

As futile as denying reality was, he still welcomed the chance to run away from it for a while longer and embraced unconsciousness wholeheartedly.

His last thoughts were still on Slaine.

 _"I'm glad you came to your senses. It means the world to me that you were so stubborn, it_ does _," his voice trembled on the verge of a sob for a second before going back to being stone cold, "But this has wasted too much time. So now, ready or not, Inaho_ _Kaizuka, Orange, for your friends and for your sister..._ run _, and don't look back."_

***

“Tell me, scum!”

If Slaine wasn’t in so much pain he’d laugh; why start asking questions only now, when he was nearly fainting from the pain?

He knew why. Cruhteo cared more about punishing him than getting actual results, he always had.

Another wave of electricity cut through his body. The momentary feeling of nearly being torn apart brought his attention back to the man in front of him.

“What did you do to the body?”

“Body?” he managed to rasp out, voice slightly hoarse from screaming.

It earned him another lash of the whip. He thought he could hear Count Saazbaum protesting from where he watched everything through a video.

“Insolent boy! Did you think we wouldn’t figure out you had something to do with my underlings disappearance when it occurred just as you were found?! We saw all the blood on the ground, where is the body?”

It’s hard, thinking through all the hurt, but Slaine made an effort. _There...was another martian? But then...if they didn’t find his body or mentioned finding other terrans...that must mean Inaho and Rayet took care of him and escaped…_

It filled him with relief. _I did it, I managed to save them. I can die in peace now_. “I..threw him in the sea nearby,” he lied.

Cruhteo’s reaction was to whip him enough that he temporarily lost his senses.

When he regained conscious, with every inch of his body screaming, the man was still yelling questions.

It didn’t matter. Slaine would never betray Her Highness or Inaho, he accepted his end…

When he refused to answer, a gun was forcibly shoved inside his mouth.

Suddenly all his peace left and Slaine felt uncontrollable terror. He knew he would die, had expected to, yet now that it was so close he realized he didn't want to.

He wanted to live. Wanted to help her Highness build the peace she longed for, wanted to be together with Inaho again…

Slaine didn’t know why he was even this scared. He should have seen this coming; nothing in his life was ever happy for long.

The gun was removed, and the now too familiar torture methods came back. Or so he assumed. There was a point where pain was pain and the only difference was how much of his body was screaming. Except at this point it never stopped hurting anymore.

He wasn’t going to talk, so it really was only a matter of time before he died, he should welcome it instead of fearing it.

“Tell me how you managed to go move far from where the skycarrier crashed. We didn’t find your ship, what did you use?! _Explain!”_

Something happened, he was overwhelmed by his body burning; and when he regained a modicum of consciousness he found himself on the ground. The coolness of it only made everything worse.

_Maybe he’s finally ending this for real._

The thought strangely calmed him again, because Cruhteo would fail and not find the Deucalion. Because he would escape this, finally.

_My life has always been this. Everyone leaves or dies or abandons me, why did I think things would change? At least this way, I’m not left behind again._

Slaine chuckled at the futility that had been trying to make himself happy, and at how thankfully stupid his former boss had turned out to be.

He told him about Trillam’s death _–_ one last snub, because the Count had somehow not figured out he was involved in that _–_ before falling unconscious again.

***

The next time Inaho awoke, he deemed himself well enough to hear what happened since he last recalled and speak to the Captain.

Despite Yuki’s insistence he needed to rest, a small meeting was called for in the infirmary, consisting of Asseylum, her maid, Rayet, Yuki and the Captain. Inaho’s friends had also wanted to participate but Dr. Yagarai had deemed that that many people might overwhelm his patient.

First, Rayet and Magbaredge explained how he was still alive. After the martian had shot him in the eye, Rayet used the car to safely run him over without getting shot. She then took his corpse and Inaho back to the Deucalion. As Inaho had supposed, showing Magbaredge the martian’s body helped the captain believe Rayet, and the Deucalion safely took off.

So far, they’d been flying at full speed towards the Russian base and had yet to catch any martian Landing Castle on their radars.

“That’s where we stand,” Magbaredge finished. “Now, if you aren’t feeling too tired, would you mind telling us what happened? Ms. Areash said she was separated from you and is unaware of  what went on back then.”

“He should rest!” Yuki blurted out.

“Sister, it’s fine,” Inaho assured her tiredly. “Besides, it’s vital that the Captain becomes aware of what occurred to fully understand our situation.”

Yuki crossed her arms to show her disapproval, but said nothing else.

With some difficulty _–_ which could be due to his physical condition, but Inaho thought it was  more because of his emotions– Inaho recounted his part.

“Judging by the martian’s words as he tried to goad Slaine into coming out, as well as how easily he recognized him, he belonged to the Count Slaine had served under, so–”

“Oh, Count Cruhteo?’ Asseylum interrupted. Despite looking worried throughout the visit, she now seemed relieved, and looked around at everyone with a small smile. “This is good! Count Cruhteo took care of Slaine for years, he’ll listen to him and–”

“I think it’s best if you leave,” Inaho cut her sharply.

Asseylum blinked and looked at Inaho in confusion. “But–”

“Go,” Inaho ordered and, even though his voice wasn’t harsh, Asseylum seemed extremely taken aback. She opened her mouth again–

“Come, Your Highness, it’s better for his health if we don’t disobey him,” Eddelrittuo spoke, gently guiding her mistress towards the door.

The fact she hadn’t yelled at Inaho for daring to speak like that to Asseylum, as well as how easily she agreed with making the princess leave was...suspicious.

The conclusion came to Inaho easily.

“Eddelrittuo,” he called when she was about to exit, just after Asseylum. She turned back to look at him. “You knew about his treatment, didn’t you?” he asked, and the maid’s answering expression was answer enough. “I see. Considering how you treated him since his arrival, you were fine with what they were doing. I don’t think I can forgive you. Don’t speak to me ever again.”

The young girl nodded feebly, avoiding his eye, and ran out.

Silence descended in the room.

*

It wasn’t her fault, was it?

Slaine was dead. _Had_ to be, if Count Cruhteo had him.

It wouldn't have made a difference, would it, if she had told Her Highness about how he was being treated, if she hadn’t mistreated him either?

_It’s not my fault! I didn't know a terran could be someone so worthy! There was nothing I could have done!_

Her mistress was talking to her, distraught at Inaho’s behavior, questioning it.

Eddelrittuo assuaged her, lied about why the terran had done it.

For once, it’s not simply that she wanted to protect Her Highness form the truth, but that she doesn’t want her to think less of Eddelrittuo, and if she found out what Eddelrittuo had never told her...

_It wasn’t my fault. I’m so sorry Slaine._

_*_

“Okay, what the hell just happened?” Rayet finally spoke.

Inaho sighed. “Slaine was severely maltreated, to the point of abuse, by his caretaker and other martians, who Slaine believes were the ones to plot against Seylum. Which is why,” there was a lump in his throat again. “Which is why there is little– no, there is no chance that he will...be spared.”

Yuki grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Inaho welcomed the touch.

Like the rest of the people currently in the room, Rayet looked visibly shaken and somber at the information, but it didn’t stop her from asking. “So why remove the princess from the room?”

“She doesn’t know the truth. I...suppose it’s something she’ll need to learn eventually but I...I’m in no state to tell her. Not when I know she’ll want to refute me since it’ll destroy her views.”

“Really? Aren’t you angry at her? I mean, Slaine got...Slaine isn’t here anymore and there she is, not even knowing what he went through. Don’t you want to hurt or slap or yell at her?” Rayet asks incredulously.

Inaho can feel himself becoming extremely tired again, or maybe it’s just sorrow. Still, he frowns and answers, “No. What happened to Slaine is not her fault. Hurting her will not erase what happened to him nor...bring him back. It’s also the last thing he’d have wanted. If Seylum is oblivious to what was done to him...while it must have partially required naiveté and blindness from her, it means Slaine never told her. Slaine wanted to keep it from her, so how can I blame her for it?”

“What about that maid?”

Inaho’s expression darkened. “She’s another story. Her actions just now showed that she was well aware of what Slaine’s situation truly was, yet despite knowing how he suffered she still treated him with contempt throughout this journey. I’m angry at her, but even so...punishing her won’t fix anything either.”

Rayet shuddered. “It’s a good thing you’re so level headed. If you had my temperament…”

Despite the dark implications, Inaho smiled thinly. “If I did, the fact I can’t properly see now would be the only thing stopping this room from becoming an irrational blood bath, yes.”

“I think my brother needs to sleep,” Yuki said, sounding disturbed.

“Yes, I think that is best,” Magbaredge agreed, giving Inaho a pitying look. No, maybe his one eye was making it harder than usual to read expressions, because why would the captain pity him? She should pity Slaine, who was- he quickly concentrated on what Magbaredge was saying to avoid dwelling on that. “We've heard enough, I can guess what happened at the end; Slaine is...was a great boy. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Inaho said nothing, closing his eyes as he felt a headache forming.

He heard footsteps as everyone moved to leave.

“I just want to stay a few more minutes,” Rayet was saying far away.

“No, he needs to rest,” his sister denied it.

“Let her do it, Yuki,” Inaho said, “I need to speak with her too.”

There was a sigh that was clearly his sister’s and the door was shut.

Inaho opened his eyes but focused his vision on the ceiling instead of turning to look at Rayet who, judging by the sound of it, had come back to his bedside. “Thank you,” he said.

“For?”

“For not making Slaine’s sacrifice be in vain.”

“...it’s fine. Listen–”

“If you’re about to suggest hurting Asseylum or Eddelrittuo in my stead, don’t. I meant it when I said I don’t want to hurt them.”

“I wasn’t going to. If you want to hurt someone, do it yourself without involving others. I like being free again.”

“You’re free?”

“Yeah. Since the princess herself has no issue with me and I just saved everyone’s asses again, the captain decided I was pardoned.”

“I see. And what did you want to tell me then?”

“Cry.”

He was confused enough to take his eyes from the ceiling and look at her. “What?”

“Look,” Rayet said, sounding uncomfortable. “I’m not cool headed like you, but we’re similar in that our personalities aren't the type to outwardly show grief. But as someone who recently watched her loved ones get crushed to death...cry. Cry about it. I didn't cry when they died, I had no time because I had to run and survive. And after that I just...internalized it all and then it fucked me up and I lost my head because I didn't know how to grieve. When I got locked up in that cell alone...I had nothing to do and kept thinking back to them and just...one day I started crying and couldn’t stop for hours. It calmed me down.”

“I never cried for my parents.”

“When did they die?”

“When I was very young–”

“Do you even remember them?”

“No.”

“Then you can’t compare that to Slaine. But I’m not saying you should force yourself to cry, just that...don’t try to avoid thinking about it and when you do, let it all out. I think everyone will leave you alone for a while now so you can rest, this is your chance.”

There was nothing else to say and, without another word, Rayet left.

Inaho supposed it wasn’t bad advice; he had been avoiding truly accepting what Slaine being gone meant and it wasn’t healthy.

_Slaine is gone._

Killed, most likely painfully, and for his sake.

Slaine would never laugh or smile again, he would never hold his hand, or bicker with him or–

He lifted a hand to touch the wetness in his face.

For the first time ever, he was crying.

***

Slaine shivered, not sure why. His body ached and he felt soaked to the bone.

“It’s because you’re buried in snow,” a familiar voice explained.

Slaine opened his eyes –had they been closed?– and saw Inaho.

“Get up,” the boy said, and offered a hand to help him, which Slaine immediately took.

Up...funny, how he hadn’t realized he’d been buried in snow. He wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten there.

“We were snowball fighting,” Inaho explained.

Slaine believed him, somehow. How had he gotten buried in snow, though?

“I made it so a pile of snow collapsed over you.”

“Ah, you bastard,” Slaine spoke for the first time, amused. First time?

“But you got me back by hitting me in the eye,” Inaho said, pointing to his left eye. “It took me some time to be able to see again.”

“You deserved it,” Slaine replied. The feeling of being wet was explained, but why was he so sore? Before he could ask, he shivered. The cold and feeling of being bruised were really bothering him.

“Let me fix that,” Inaho said. He took Slaine’s hands, kissed them, blew hot air in them and then placed them inside his pockets. “That should take care of your hands.”

“Y-yeah,” Slaine said, embarrassed but liking it too much to remove them. In fact…”But...what about the rest of my body?” he asked tentatively, hopeful.

There was a mischievous twinkle in Inaho’s eye. “I’ve read that body heat is the best for that, so…”

Slaine found his and Inaho’s shirts were now unbuttoned, yet before he could ask about this, Inaho crushed their bodies together.

Somehow the pain dulled, the sensation of being soaked disappeared.

“Let’s just stay like this for a while,” Inaho suggested, drawing his face near, very near.

Slaine made no reply, instead angling his head for a kiss–

–he woke up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed.

Count Saazbaum sat beside him.

***

***

***

“Do you believe in fate?”

The question caught Inaho by surprise, and he looked up from his tablet to the boy that had just become his boyfriend. “Why are you asking this?”

Slaine shrugged, looking at the horizon. “It was in the fairytale book I was reading. What do you think?”

“I don't believe in it, and it feels like escapism.”

“Oh?”

“Things happen as a result of people’s actions. To chalk a certain situation down to fate is to undermine the power of choices. I assume people like to believe there is such a thing to excuse bad results, by faulting not themselves but a higher power that would have forced them into it no matter what. So long as people think the outcome is beyond them, the will make less of an effort to change it, especially if they think it’s something inevitable.”

“Hm, good point.”

“What about you, do you believe in it?”

“I...I don't know,” Slaine admitted guiltily. “There are some coincidences that make me wonder if there isn't more to it. Like Asseylum just happening to be in the right place and right time to save me when I crashed into mars. Yet if there is such a thing...I dislike the thought of there being things we can’t avoid, suffering that is inevitable no matter what. That’s scary to believe in. But...”

“But?”

“At the same time, I can’t really dislike the thought of fate because...because I think it would be comforting to think that, no matter what, we would have met each other.”

Inaho found himself smiling and reached out and grabbed his hand. “Interesting. Although I don’t believe in the concept, in the unlikely event that something like fate existed, I agree that it would be our fate to meet. And if so, I wouldn't resent such a thing at all.”

“Even if it ended in tragedy?”

“Why do you say that?”

“We nearly shot each other. You nearly left me to the sea. It makes me scared, thinking how close we were to killing or never understanding each other. What if we hadn’t?”

“Look how well we work together. Even if it took longer I’m sure no matter what we’d understand each other eventually.”

“...I suppose so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> -the torture scene is different from the episode, I am aware. This is because, in my opinion, the proceedings and questions asked would drastically change given the time that elpased and how Cruhteo caught Slaine again. In ep08, a soldier of his interrupts everything to point out they found a wreckgae of another kat on the island, which Cruhteo disregards immeditaely, and Slaine laughs at it, making Cruhteo want to kill him. Since here the torture occurrs long after that, I doub Cruhteo would ask him about it, since he'd assume it insignificant. And he'd be angrier because Slaine has just supposedly murdered a soldier and evaded him for weeks
> 
> -In case anyone forgot, when Saazbaum rescues Slaine, he gets drenched in the rain
> 
> -As much as I'd love Inaho yelling at Asseylum and pointing out her idiocy...it wouldnt be in character for him to do anythign to her, or her maid.


	19. Kismet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kismet: destiny; fate.

Inaho’s recovery process was unorthodox.

Any mediocre doctor, or really any reasonable person, would say that he should take it little by little, first learning how to walk with his loss of depth before doing more complicated tasks.

But circumstances were unique, and Inaho chose to focus mainly into learning how to pilot with only one eye and forgo menial tasks for later.

“This is a war,” he had pointed out to Magbaredge and Dr. Yagarai. “Learning how to walk or run as normally as I had before won’t save me from martians. But managing to pilot a kat might.”

They’d ultimately relented and allowed it. His sister hadn’t, and had yelled that he should no longer fight, ever, but her complaint had fallen on deaf ears.

Yuki had tried ignoring Inaho after that, but quickly gave up on it when it became clear _he_ didn't mind it -too absorbed in training- and she couldn’t be there for him if she was keeping a distance. Soon, she went back to calling him by his nickname too, something she’d stopped doing in her panic after his near death experience.

As for Inaho’s piloting...he was frustrated by it. No matter how much he practiced - the simulator having been almost miraculously fixed - his skill was still lacking compared to what it had been.

In a fight, he’d be as good as a rookie if he kept up like this.

He threw himself even more into his training.

*

The excuse of Inaho’s feverish desire for bettering his skills being for the sake of battle didn't really convince his friends. As far as they were concerned, it was obvious Inaho was also trying to push down thoughts of Slaine by being too busy concentrating on honing himself and then being too tired by it all to do anything but have dreamless sleep.

They were beside themselves with worry; not only because he was straining his body, but because he’d become less responsive than usual. He didn’t push them away, and replied accordingly when spoken to, but it was clear that, beyond his training, everything had become dull and unimportant to Inaho.

The subject of Slaine was one they avoided at all costs, but when they did accidently mention him…

...Inaho simply withdrew more into himself, which was more disturbing and worrying than if he had reacted.

*

The Deucalion had become oppressive to him.

Each and every thing reminded him of Slaine, somehow.

When Okisuke died, when his hands hadn't managed to hold onto Inaho’s and he was thrown into a martian kat, the change of scenery as well as the fact he didn’t feel for him as much as he did for Slaine had helped him cope.

Slaine’s death was suffocating, and the constant reminder of the little time they had together everywhere around him was like an additional stab.

He knew his friends and sister assumed he was training avidly to distract himself, but they were wrong. The simulator was filled with memories of him, as they;d spent so much time together inside it. To make it worse, every time highscores flashed on the screen, Slaine’s name would appear.

He was working so hard at improving his skill not to forget Slaine, but because he couldn’t afford to let anyone else die, for the sake of Slaine’s sacrifice and his own feelings.

***

At one point, Marito came to talk to him.

“Did you come to give me advice on moving on from a loved one’s death?” Inaho asked immediately, not taking his eyes from his tablet.

“You’re really direct today.”

“I’m always very direct, though it seems these days people want to think this is somehow a consequence of...that. Which I suppose it is; I don't feel like waiting until you get to the point, especially since you aren’t the first to come give me such guidance.”

“So you’d rather I leave?” Marito asked levelly.

“No. I...welcome it, though I doubt there’s anything you can suggest that is new.”

“Actually, I’m afraid I don’t have anything good to say.” Despite no invitation, Marito sat beside Inaho on his bed. “I mean...if I knew how to cope with that kind of loss…” he chuckled dryly. “I’d be a well adjusted adult.”

“...I apologize, I didn't know-”

“How could you? No one told you. No one knows, probably. People think it’s just a mixture of PTSD and guilt, but it’s so much worse than that. Look, things...won't get easier anytime soon. I mean, you didn’t watch him die like I did and the situation wasn’t as brutal, but you’ll feel guilt even if though nothing was your fault and that will be a problem. Just...you’re a really smart guy, remember you had nothing to do with it. That won't stop it hurting, but that should help a little, in the long run.”

“...Thank you.”

“I did nothing. Anyway, that’s not what I came here for. Like I said, I don't know what you should do to make things better, but I do know what will make things worse.”

“And that is?”

“Drinking. Don’t drink to forget. Relief is only momentary, it won't help you stop thinking about it, or having nightmares about and in the end you’ll end up hurt and addicted.”

***

Later, Marito realized Inaho wouldn’t be the only one feeling guilty.

“It’s not your fault,” he told Magbaredge.

Her body stiffened but she didn't pretend to not understand. “Of course it is, I-”

“Made a decision that saved everyone.”

“Slaine-”

“Look, if they hadn’t discovered the martians were nearby and then distracted them by letting Slaine get captured, those guys would probably have found the Deucalion in time, and then we’d all die. Slaine too. You couldn't have known they were there, and sending those boys out there was the best thing. It’s not your fault.”

“...thank you, Lieutenant Marito.”

***

And so, for one reason or another, the Deucalion crew fervently wished for the journey to end.

***

Slaine found himself in a confused state.

He’d expected to die and braced himself for it, so he wasn't sure how to feel now that he was alive, especially since he was away from Inaho and Her Highness.

And that wasn’t all: Cruhteo had in fact been on Her Highness’ side all along, apparently. Cruhteo had hurt him too much and too long for him to have any personal feelings towards the man other than relief, yet that made him feel, as he should regret Cruhteo’s probable passing since it meant one less ally for Her Highness, but he simply couldn't muster it.

And finally...his feelings towards Count Saazbaum were also conflicting. He was grateful for being saved and afterwards so well taken care of, yet he also disliked the man since he had declared himself the mastermind behind the princess’ assassination, and seemed intent on carrying it out.

Certainly his backstory was tragic, but Slaine didn’t think hatred towards the Emperor -even if his fiancee had been murdered by accident during Heaven’s Fall, as well as the atrocious situation of the martians- warranted retribution against someone so innocent of it all like Her Highness. Worse, for all his talk of being aware of the racism towards terrans was created by the Emperor to focus martian disgruntlement on anyone but himself, Count Saazbaum seemed intent on murdering all people on Earth.

Slaine found it hard to be convinced of his rightfulness when it happened to threaten the only people he cared about.

***

The Deucalion reception at the Russian base was a warm one, and with the lack of people inside it, they had food and space and medics available for everyone.

Along with the ones who nearly killed Inaho, Rayet was also sent to prison. Magbaredge had told the girl that her aid and desire to kill martians would work in her favor, but ultimately she still needed to be tried by the UFE. The girl had shrugged and voiced no complaint.

Calm was setting up his equipment when from behind him a monotone called his name.

“Inaho?” he said as he turned around in surprise. “Didn't they rush you to the medic bay when they heard what happened to you?”

“Yes, but there was nothing else to be done about my eye, though they did mention there is something interesting in development that might help with that. Pity we’ll surely fight again before it’s completed.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I want to request something I didn't have time to when we landed.”

“Yes?”

“I’d like these modifications on my kataphrakt.” Inaho showed him his plans on a tablet. Calm frowned.

“Hold on. Are you planning on fighting?! Shouldn’t you rest?”

“No, I’m fighting.”

“...Listen, Inaho, no matter how...devastated you are...going on a suicidal crusade isn’t-”

“This is suicide. Our chances of survival are slim as it is and I am the best strategist among the Deucalion, staying behind would only jeopardize us further. Besides, I still have my sister and you guys to protect.”

“Can't you just rest and let _us_ protect _you_?”

“Not an option. And as I’ve just said, I am the best strategist.”

“Alright, alright, no need to rub it in. But, one more thing: why modify your current kat? Isn't it better to take one of the upgraded models? Everyone is going to do that.”

“I’ve had difficulty enough managing to control that one with half my vision. A new model would mean new controls and piloting method. Since I’m already used to how the orange one works, it’ll be better if, in my condition, I continue to use it.”

“Hm, I suppose. Okay, hand over your plans and I’ll see what I can do.”

***

Soon, worldwide transmission was set up for Asseylum to state her piece.

***

“I beg you, put a stop to this tragedy.”

As he watched Asseylum’s speech, Inaho said nothing.

He doubted it would work. Martians were too bloodthirsty, too set in thinking terrans did not deserve Earth, to so easily give up conquering it. Furthermore, there were also martians that wanted her dead. They wouldn’t simply stand down...

***

Slaine had been wary since Saazbaum and an underling began taking him somewhere in chains, but the destination was a complete surprise.

“This is the Tharsis!” he said when he saw the familiar machine.

“I retrieved it from Castle Cruhteo,” Saazbaum explained. “He was unworthy of it.”

_It’s aldnoah drive is powered down, which means Count Cruhteo really is…_

For Her Highness’ sake, he wished he could muster some sadness over his death.

“Princess Asseylum’s location has been pinpointed,” Saazbaum continued. “Via laser transmission to the Moon Base.”

“...!”

“The Moon Base is under the control of those who feel as I do. Her Highness’ proclamation will reach no one’s ears. The final battle is about to take place at the enemy’s main stronghold, even with the might of of a Landing Castle it will be no easy feat.”

He took out a gun and, before Slaine could properly react and protect himself, Saazbaum shot his chains open.

 _Why didn’t he simply use a key? If he’d missed..._ Slaine refrained from shuddering at the thought as he rubbed his wrists.

“My debt to your father is paid. You may join my forces or you may flee to Earth. Do as you will.”

With that, Saazbaum turned away and left.

***

And so, the attack on the Russian Base began.

***

He’d managed to be put on his kataphrakt despite his sister’s protests, even though all indicated he’d do nothing more than defend in case anyone boarded the Deucalion as it took flight.

He received word there was a phone call for him and took it.

“Mustang 22.”

“I shall help too,” came Asseylum’s voice at the other end of the line.

“Seylum…”

“All Vers weaponry is powered by aldnoah drives. Landing Castles are no exceptions. If its aldnoah drive is shut down, the Landing Castle will cease to function.”

“How will we do that?” Inaho asked, but only to stall for time; he already knew how and was thinking up a plan.

“If the person who activated the aldnoah drive loses his life, it will automatically shut down.”

“Ah, just like it occurred to the Deucalion when you nearly drowned.” He'd surmised as much when it’d happened.

“Yes. Also, one of the Vers Emperor’s bloodline would be able to forcibly shut it down.”

Inaho had been expecting her to say it. “In other words...you are saying that you can shut it down.”

“Yes.”

“Understood. I’ll escort you to the enemy’s Landing Castle.”

“Hold your horses, Nao!” His sister’s voice barged in. “Why are you always pulling this crap?!”

“What crap?”

“You know what crap! The way you always say insane things with a perfectly straight face!”

Inaho found he had no will to even sigh as he pointed out what should be obvious. “Now that we know she is unable to negotiate politically, her presence is of no benefit. But if she is of tactical use, we should make use of her.” _Slaine, if there is life after death, I hope your spirit isn’t listening to this._ “If we lose, they’re just going to kill her anyway. It’s the logical decision.”

“Logic is all it has going for it! How many lives do you think that would cost?!”

“If we do nothing, just as many will die.”

“And that makes it okay to pull this crazy crap?”

“This is war.”

“My point exactly!”

“Sorry Yuki, but I think we should bet on the method with the best odds of success. That’s all it is.”

“Nao, I know you’re hurt about-”

“At that time, I was like you; wanting to take the emotional route out of the situation. It was Slaine that persuaded me to do what had the most chances of a favorable outcome.” Inaho found his throat suddenly, tight, but he willed his voice to come out steady and calm. “If I could take the logical decision then... I can do so now.”

There was stunned silence in reply, until Asseylum broke it.

“I agree with his assessment,” she said quietly but with certainty.

“...All right, Highness,” Yuki replied softly, defeated. “I’ll run it by the Captain.”

“Thank you.”

Inaho took out and stared at the charm Yuki had given him so long ago. His sister just didn't understand.

He wished he could avoid using Asseylum, yet employing her, and putting her in harm's way, was the surest way of ensuring Yuki would live.

Inaho liked Asseylum, considered her one of his few friends, even, but he loved Yuki.

He'd already lost Slaine, he couldn’t afford to lose his sister too.

_I doubt he’d forgive me for this._

***

For Slaine there was no choice, not really. He was grateful for Count Saazbaum’s rescue, but the Count didn't understand what he was asking for.

He wouldn't be betraying _just_ Her Highness, but Inaho, his friends and the good people inside the Deucalion.

There was no choice. He got inside the nearest skycarrier and flew to meet them.

***

He arrived too late.

***

Watching the Deucalion safely fly away with Asseylum on board, Rayet wondered if saving her now would compensate for starting all this bloodbath.

 _At least, Slaine won't be waiting to punch me in the afterlife,_ she thought grimly.

Martians surrounded her, she gripped the controls tighly in her rage.

_Not that I plan on dying anytime soon, there’s too much scum I need to kill first._

***

The Deucalion flew over the battlefield...only to be quickly hit. But Captain Magbaredge would not fail so easily; she aimed the plunging ship at the Landing Castle.

***

The Deucalion’s crash -even if cut short by the Landing Castle- still left most incapacitated if not unconscious, or worse.

Without hesitation, Inaho climbed inside his usual kat.

“Nao, no!” his sister yelled through the intercom.

“There is no one else capable of this, Yuki,” he pointed out easily. “If I don’t join you, we all die anyway.”

His sister must have realized it, because she said nothing else.

“Kick their asses for us!” Calm, bleeding but otherwise seemingly fine, told him.

He prepared himself while listening to Yuki verifying Asseylum’s status.

“Do you hate us?” The princess was asking his sister. “The versians who did this to Earth and took so many lives...you hate us, don’t you? And, after what happened to Slaine...”

 _You shouldn’t lump yourself with them._ “Seylum,” he called to her. “What does it take to end war? Do you know?”

“Well, if both sides wish for peace and set aside their hatred…”

 _Someone needs to teach her the truth if she intends to rule successfully._ “No. Warfare is nothing but a means of negotiation between states. War breaks out even when there is no hatred. Territory, resources or interests that you are determined to own. Ideology, religion, pride. Wars are fought over those objectives all the time, meaning that when those objectives are met, the war will end. That, or...the war ends when the human cost outweighs the gain. Anger and hatred, those are nothing more than tools to tilt a war in your favour. I’m not interested in those emotions.”

_Or any emotions, for that matter, not after Slaine…_

“Inaho…” he heard Asseylum say breathlessly.

“So I wouldn’t hate anyone just because they’re martian.” _But I will loathe the ones who killed Slaine, regardless of where they’re from._

“Oh?” a new, male, voice interrupted the conversation. “I would gladly hate a terran for that fact alone.”

Missiles rained at them and a dark martian kataphrakt followed.

“Saazbaum of the Vers Orbital Knights’ Thirty-Seven Clans has arrived,” the man inside announced. “Please make your peace, Princess Asseylum.”

“Count Saazbaum? It was you?!”

“How did he tap our encrypted comms?”

“All units, restrict further communication to laser comms!”

“Yuki,” Inaho interrupted the sudden babble of nervous voices. “Continue the mission. Inko, provide support for Yuki. I’ll hold him off.”

“Don’t be stupid!” she replied. “You don’t know what his combat capability is! You can’t win alone! And in your condition-”

“I don’t need to win.” _Or survive._ “I only need to slow him down.”

“Inaho!” Yuki reverted back to his full name in her worry. “You aren’t planning on acting like a human shield, are you?”

“That’s an ineffective means of buying time. Go, hurry.”

“Inaho!” Asseylum interjected. “Good luck!”

“Thanks.”

They left, and he turned to the one named Saazbaum...

***

“Are they still inside the Deucalion?” Slaine said outloud to himself worriedly, seeing the state of the ship as he flew over the Castle.

He glanced at the fights going on the outside deck _. Is that...and orange kataphrakt…?_

Before he could pay more attention, someone shot at his skycarrier and he had to focus on not crashing.

After he managed to land his now useless skycarrier, he rushed to glance at the fighting. There was indeed an orange kat, fighting Count Saazbaum.

_Inaho, is that Inaho?_

“Don’t move!” someone yelled behind him, and Slaine turned to find a beige kataphrakt aiming its gun at him. “Are you... _Slaine?!_ ”

The boy blinked, and it dawned on his the voice was familiar; this was  someone from the Deucalion. Relieved he opened his mouth-

It was shot before he could say anything, and a well intentioned martian dragged him away while telling him he should take care.

Slaine considered if he should point out he hadn’t just been saved, and was terran, but a soldier killed the martian and began shooting at him. It was a terran he didn’t recognize. Deciding he was useless and in danger where he was, Slaine ran away to find something to pilot.

*

“Auxiliary power system, start. Will it work?”

“No luck, huh? It’s aldnoah drive is shut down…” Slaine wasn't sure what he'd been thinking of when he climbed inside the Tharsis, probably nothing; in his desperation he’d forgotten he would never manage to even start it. “It will never move again without someone who has been granted activation rights.” He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth in anger and desperation. “What do I do?”

As if the universe wished for nothing more than to prove him wrong at every turn, the kataphrakt came to life.

“It- the Aldnoah drive powered up? But how?” Slaine stared, shocked, but quickly snapped out of it; he didn’t know why it had worked but that was unimportant, all that mattered is that he now could help the others.

With difficulty, he began trying out the controls…

***

Inaho and Saazbaum fell through the floor, directly in front of Asseylum and her escorts…

*

It was amusing how he, a terran in a old kat model, was still alive when against a martian one.

Figuring out the gap to his barrier had been the key to it, and Saazbaum being distracted by Asseylum had helped him get close and take aim, as well as create an explosion that disarmed the barrier

Still, Inaho was only barely holding his own against his foe.

Now that Inko, Asseylum and Yuki were on foot near their goal, he could feel some relief, though he would no longer have any openings to aim closely…

He discarded his gun, knowing his aim would be bad at a distance.

“You dare?!” the Count yelled, enraged. It seemed he’d misunderstood Inaho’s gesture of putting down his gun as one of goading him.

He rushed at Inaho. The terran doubted he’d last much longer.

It was fine though; his main goal was keeping him busy while Asseylum, Inko and his sister disarmed the base…

He’d lied to Calm; this _was_ a suicidal mission. Not that he wanted to die, but Inaho was well aware this would be the natural result.

So long as he died while succeeding in protecting Yuki and his friends, the thought of meeting Slaine in the afterlife this soon wasn’t a bad one.

That is...if there was such a thing. He’d never been religious, but right now Inaho fervently prayed there was something after death.

***

Through the Tharsis’ intercom, Slaine managed to hear conversations going on throughout.

He heard Saazbaum talking and rushed to him, as Inaho would probably be close by.

_Please be safe, Inaho!_

***

Aa expected, Inaho found his kat overwhelmed, and soon all he could do was attempt to defend himself, trying to delay the inevitable only a little more.

It wasn’t that Saazbaum was overly skilled or powerful: Inaho had quickly noticed his Dioscuria’s weakness. The problem was that Inaho was not as good as he once was. With the loss of depth, landing blows precisely or stopping them had become too difficult. The prior destruction of Saazbaum’s barrier had only succeeded because he’d had Inko and Yuki with him.

Perhaps, if he hadn’t lost his his eye, he might have even beaten Saazbaum…

“Your kind could never understand,” the martian was ranting, too busy doing so to give any finishing blows. “The envy and hatred towards terrans that had been planted in us constantly tarnished our souls and robbed us of our ability to live as human beings!”

 _If you’re aware of it, why do you not attempt to break free of that implanted hatred?_ Inaho wondered, but had no breath to ask out loud, as he braced himself and barely managed to block the incoming blows.

“You, with your lives of indolence in a land of plenty, could never understand how we feel! The resentment at having that hatred ingrained in you! The sense of futility when you realize what was done!”

_You recognize what was done yet you continue to follow it. This man is beyond reason._

“The regret of failing to protect the one you love...you could never understand it!”

Inaho’s kataphrakt could no longer handle the onslaught and buckled, falling to the ground.

Images of Slaine filled his mind, and Inaho’s heart skipped a beat. _Of course I do, pretentious man. You aren’t the only one with tragedy in your life._

“This is it, terran,” the martian’s voice said, dripping with arrogance, as he readied himself for the final blow-

*

Slaine turned a corner and saw-

The familiar orange kat, kneeling on the ground. “...Orange? Inaho!”

And over it, the Dioscuria’s arm poised upwards, gaining momentum to come down over its fallen adversary…

“ _Inaho!_ ” he yelled, and surged forward.

*

A white martian kataphrakt came at impressive speed and -to Inaho’s surprise- threw itself over him, at his adversary, saving Inaho.

The force of it, along with the closeness between the machines, had the three thrown against a wall, breaking it, and landing on the other side.

Inaho hit his head, _hard_ , and lost his senses.

*

Asseylum succeed in shutting down the aldnoah drive just seconds before three kataphrakts came through the wall behind her.

***

Slaine shook himself free from the Tharsis. He barely noted how strangely dark the room they were in was before rushing to where the familiar orange kat lay. It’s hatch was partially open, and inside…

*

Inaho regained consciousness as a voice urgently said his name.

Dizzy, vision blurry, he thought Slaine was in front of him, calling to him.

_Did I die and this apparition has come take me to what’s next?_

Strangely, it said something his ringing ears couldn't catch and left.

_No, come back…_

*

Slaine felt a huge weight leave him upon seeing Inaho was alive, but the boy was clearly in a very bad state.

“I’m going to look for something to help remove you from there safely,” he had told Inaho, though he wasn't sure if the other had heard, and moved away to search.

He climbed on top of the Tharsis to better look around the room when a familiar voice called out.

“Inaho!”

Heart swelling, Slaine turned around and watched as Princess Asseylum rushed to Inaho and spoke to him.

_She’s okay too! I’m so-_

Shots rang out, and he watched in horror as she fell, blood gushing out of her through multiple holes.

Slaine whirled around.

Saazbaum, holding a gun and looking triumphant.

The rest was...blurry. He might have yelled, he might have cried, but all Slaine was certain of -thought he didn’t quite recall it- was that he grabbed a gun and shot the Count multiple times.

The man didn’t die immediately. Instead, he pointed to his head; a sign of where Slaine should really shoot.

Crying -at what he was forced to do and at whom he’d failed to protect- Slaine instead put down the gun; Saazbaum would likely die of bloodloss soon enough, he had more important things to take care of.

He turned, saw that Inaho had managed to disentangle himself from the cockpit and was crawling towards Princess Asseylum’s body and walked towards him.

***

Inaho had nearly reached the bleeding body when he heard someone coming up behind him, with the familiar metallic sound of a gun at their hands.

“Don’t. That is far enough,” the person said, and no matter how in a bad shape he was, Inaho recognized it.

_No…maybe it’s someone else with a similar voice and I’m just wishfully thinking it’s-_

“Don’t move any more…Orange.”

 _Slaine._ He turned around to make sure and though everything was blurry he thought he could make out Slaine’s hair.

 _Slaine is alive._ Despite his pain and sorrow at Asseylum’s death, Inaho couldn’t help feeling lighter, more peaceful.

_Slaine is alive._

_But Asseylum isn’t_. Slaine had done everything for her and Inaho had failed to protect her. Worse; he’d put her in harm’s way He wouldn’t be forgiven, would he?  

_Even so…_

“…Bat,” he said with a relieved smile. It didn’t matter that Slaine was probably not going to forgive him for allowing Asseylum to be killed; he was alive, Yuki was alive and safe now that the Castle deactivated. Inaho was happy.

He turned his head to Asseylum again before he could make out Slaine’s expression;  not wanting to see the one person he had fallen in love with look at him with hatred and bitterness.

“In the end, I didn’t protect her after all,” he gasped out. “I...agreed to carry out this plan of shutting down the aldnoah drive and now she’s dead.” It was supposed to be followed by an apology, but words failed him.

Despite the darkness and his state, Inaho thought he saw movement coming from what should be the princess’ corpse. Of course, instinctual nerve movement after death wasn’t unexpected, but to make sure, he moved towards her...

“I told you not to move, didn’t I,” Slaine said with a sigh. Then, to Inaho’s surprise, the blond moved forward and fell to his knees beside Inaho and stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re too hurt, moving will just aggravate your wounds, so stop.” He began to sigh again but it turned into a sob halfway. “And it wasn’t your duty to protect her, but mine. I failed. And this is all _my_ fault.”

*

Slaine could feel new tears forming, this time filled entirely with guilt and remorse. He should have _known_. Nothing he loved lasted. His mother had abandoned him, his father was no more. Maybe that’s why Her Highness had died. He had loved her, and then dared love another. Fate would not allow him to have that much happiness and so one of the two had to go…

Was that way of thinking correct? Would she have survived if he hadn’t been interested in Inaho? Would he have done anything differently, better, more efficiently for her and succeeded in protecting her if he hadn’t split his heart between them?

There was no point in thinking about it now, and nothing he could do about it, so instead Slaine focused on Inaho, hand going from his shoulder to his hair and pushing it sideways to check the wound above his eyes.

“I’m…glad you survived,” he said sincerely, because with his luck it was a blessing he hadn’t lost them _both_.

*

Inaho didn’t know what to say or feel. Slaine was even softly wiping the blood over his eye, the touch making his shiver. His vision slowly cleared, and he could see Slaine’s words weren’t empty; his face showed no signs of blaming Inaho; only deep sadness and self-guilt.

There were so many things Inaho needed to say and ask. _How did you escape Cruhteo? How did you manage to reach us here? Are you okay, physically? I love you._  

_But more importantly right now…_

Slaine’s face had clear tear stains and it seemed more were about to fall…

Turning sideways hurt – _a cracked rib, probably-_ but he did so anyway so he could reach out and touch Slaine’s eye with a shaking hand.

“It wasn’t your fault either. You did all you could, and more than you should have been able to,” Inaho rasped.  He paused for breath and would have said more but a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him. He felt himself falling forward, only to be held by Slaine.

“Inaho!” he heard him yell through the haze. Things got too blurry then, and all Inaho knew was that he could feel himself being moved.

Quickly as it had come, the blurriness was gone, and Inaho found that he was now laying on the ground, head on Slaine’s lap. The blond was looking down at him and crying.

“Please…” he sobbed. “ _Please_ don’t die too.”

“Don’t say…things like that. Of course I won’t. Not when I...managed to see you again. _”_

That made Slaine smile faintly for a moment, but then he frowned, fingers brushing against Inaho’s eyepatch.

“What happened to your eye?”

“A martian shot it when I was running back to the Deucalion...that day.”

“Oh Inaho.” It seemed as if a fresh set of tears would fall, but Slaine controlled himself and looked at their surroundings.

“What now?” he wondered.

***

***

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be some notes regarding how things will go from here on. But to avoid worry: as some might have noticed, this fic is part I of a series. There will be part II. More about that on the notes, which will be posted this week.
> 
> Onto this chapter specifically:
> 
> 1) Most of the dialogue in this chapter is transcribed from ep12 and a bit from ep11, with obvious adjustments to fit the changes made in the fic. Saazbaum telling Inaho he didn't know the pain of losing a loved one is 100% canon.
> 
> 2) People probably noticed how Inaho was not beating Saazbaum in the fic, unlike in canon. As it’s said in the fic, this was due to having limited eyesight and -given he lost it recently- not enough time to adjust to it
> 
> In fact, this is why I had him losing his eye so early, rather than have him being shot by a martian during the battle at russia. I needed him to be losing the battle with saazbaum so that Slaine’s interference would make sense.
> 
> Slaine saving Saaz in the anime was...dumb. extremely so. Even if he had no good will towards Inaho and terrans, to protect the man he knew wanted Asseylum dead by attacking the ones that had kept her alive (even if he thought they were doing so to use her) was silly. I suppose he felt some attachment to Saaz after being saved by him, and maaaaybe felt he could change his mind about Asseylum...but the move was still foolish, and clearly done more because the writers wanted to show off Inaho being so ultimate he beat superior martian mechas but without killing saazbaum and then having inaho incapacitated so they could up the drama with asseylum.
> 
> So in this fic, where Slaine not only has Asseylum but also Inaho to protect, stopping Inaho from killing Saazbaum would be even less sensible than in the anime, yet I required the three to go crashing through the wall. Thus, Inaho losing his eye and with that losing against the martian, requiring slaine to jump at the dioscuria not the orange kat was perfect, as it managed to keep the important stuff from canon without being as convoluted as it (hopefully).
> 
> 3) There was also no reason for Slaine to later shoot Inaho in the fic. Hell, he barely had any in anime too (and the reasoning one can find is also very weak, like ‘not thinking straight’ and such) and in this fic even less, so it was removed entirely.
> 
> 4) One thing I couldn't remove that irked me, sadly, was Slaine not finish killing Saazbaum. He’d killed Trillam for suggesting he wanted Asseylum gone. He killed Inaho in cold blood knowing full well how Asseylum cared for him for no discernable reason...and yet the man that plotted the first murder and outright shot her mercilessly minutes before he spared?? Well, since in the fic he doesn't spare him only to go and murder Inaho...to me thats less ridiculous.
> 
> 5) In The anime, Asseylum does reach Inaho before Slaine can so much as move. Given Inaho and Saazbaum’s places were changed in the fic, I considered that he’d thus be further away and maybe even hidden from initial view, so she'd take longer to reach him.
> 
> 6) Saazbaum going on and on about how terrible it was they forced into hating terrans...while hating someone for no reason other than being terran...was so very stupid.
> 
> 7) Back to Asseylum. I recall thinking the last two episodes of s1 were awesome for her. She seemed to be clearly realizing things were not about simply demanding peace, and with Inaho’s speech to her, surely she’d develop… haha fuck that we got s2 instead. Pity, she showed so much potential in the s1 finale.
> 
> 8) I did not delve into certain canon scenes much, and skipped others entirely on the assumptions stuff like Rayet escaping and saving Asseylum etc would be something everyone remembered. If anyone forgot episode details (or is reading this fic without having watched the episode) feel free to ask me about it.
> 
> 9) Inaho does put down his weapon for no reason doing the fight with Saaz, and the martian takes as a slight. I have no idea why inaho did so, and in the fic I chalked it down to him not being able to shoot properly from the distance.
> 
> *
> 
> Ah, I suppose more than ever -on this fic- these notes are complaining a lot. That’s expected since it was ep12 that infuriated me into writing this (and then ep24 enraged me further and that's how In Carcere was born). I could go on about all the ridiculous plot points the writers had happen in ep12 so they could have that dumb drama at the end but I think you all get the picture. 
> 
> Again, I will post another ‘chapter’ solely about how things will go from here, so before asking me about the continuation, wait a little ^^


	20. Notes regarding the future

I apologize for making a chapter just for this, but i felt that this way there was less chance of someone missing the message.

I've been asked a lot if I'll continue this. The answer is yes: I'm going to keep going and write s2.

Important things:

 **-I will take a break**. not from fics in general, but a break before i start writing the next part of this. Turns out (unsurprisngly) that writing two long fics weekly is tiring and also takes a lot of my free time. I want to rest a little, maybe try and write oneshots. In Carcere will not be on hiatus though, that's still ongoing.

Another reason is that I don't have s2 as structured in ym head as I had the s1 part. That is, I know what must happen and how it ends, but I have no idea how long it'll be and I haven't decided some elements yet. One elemnt is titles: i feel like I might not manage the gimmick of unused words for titles considering how things will work out in the s2 part. Another thing is if indeed I'll post as another fic as "part II"or if i'll end up posting the chapters inside fwoan. probably not, so stay tuned for any new multichaptered fic from me, as it'll almost certainly be this continuation (i dont think i can handle three multichapter az fics at the same time, afterall)

 **-How long will be the hiatus for?** I don't know yet. A few weeks. Work and RL might get in the way so thats uncertain. But at least i wont wait til I finish In carcere to start the next part, as that fic is going to be looooong. ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)ᵒᵏᵎᵎᵎᵎ

 **-when you say you want to write s2, do you mean...** yup. Like with fwoan, its continuation will also be a rewrite, where I attempt to follow canon events but deviating to fit the difference with Slaine and Inaho. Please don't ask me if this means the two will fight and go separate ways or something, as I'm not going to reveal something so spoilery ;)

-I'm not sure but I believe the next part should have much shorter chapters, and be shorter in length overall.

-Asseylum. I was asked if she was going to die or if I'd change her character. sadly no to both: we're following canon with her.

**And now, a thank you:**

I realize people might lose interest in this before Part II is posted, so I feel it's best to say this now:

 **Thank you all for reading!** (◍•ᴗ•◍)♥

More importantly, _Thank you for the kudos, comments, fanart and messages on tumblr._ If I hadn't had such positive reactions throughout I would have probably become disheartened and abandoned this halfway. Thanks for sticking with this for so many months and I hope part II doesn't disappoint (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

Until next time! ( •̀ᄇ• ́)ﻭ✧

(any other questions, feel free to ask!)


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